In the last chapter, we saw the demise of the Lord through the…ahem…daisies of doom. Flushes in embarrassment which I will of course blame on the copious amount of fairy stories I was reading at the time. Our two adventurers have the second Pearl, and now only need one more to complete this leg of their mission. However, the fighting has really taken its toll on the both of them; Shadow has collapsed, and Rufus has no idea what to do next. Not to mention that Red has an awful feeling about Greatfish Isle… Are they already too late?
I updated! Will wonders never cease? Hehe.
I think we all know the marks for thoughts and all that jazz…if you've forgotten, check back a few chapters to find them again.
Together: An Understanding
With the help of Phoebus in his Kokiri form, I was able to drag Shadow out of the wreckage of the battle, and managed to settle her near to the fire pit. She was bleeding heavily, and I made straight for the blue potion I had in my pack. Phoebus, after patting me on the shoulder, flew off to join the other fairies. :Oh Gods, I hope I'm not too late: I prayed as I slid her mask down and gently lifted her head up so that I could give her some of the potion to help her wounds. A few flowers had become stuck in her hair, and I picked out a daisy, grinning as I remembered her teaching me how to make a chain of them.
She groaned slightly, and I gave her a little more of the blue liquid, which seemed to help. Her right arm, which had been really tense, relaxed; I could see the gashes and claw marks start to close up, and she seemed to fall into a deeper sleep. Her breathing levelled off, and her head fell back a little in my hands. Carefully, I took off my hat, and rolled it up into a sort of pillow-ish thing. Then, slowly so that I wouldn't wake her up (:because she definitely deserves a rest after that:), I shuffled backwards and put my rolled up hat under her head. She sighed, and then lay still.
Satisfied that she was OK, I took a little swig of the potion myself. Instantly, my twisted ankle felt a lot better; which was good, because one of the Kokiri was approaching me at high speed.
I jumped to my feet, sword in hand. It was the boy who'd held the dagger to my face; he didn't look half so menacing now, and his face fell when he saw the weapon in my hand. "What?" I asked, surreptitiously taking a step to the side so that I stood between him and Shadow. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. "Pardon?" I pressed, though this time not unkindly. There was something different about him… :something in the eyes:
He cleared his throat, and then took a deep, steadying breath. "Thank you." He said.
"What?" I was nonplussed.
"Thank you," he repeated; a pink fairy floated down from the trees above, and landed on top of his head. He looked up at the fairy as it dangled forwards to touch his nose, and smiled. I tapped my foot, and he immediately returned his attention to me. "You saved us," he gestured towards the pile of flowers underneath which the Lord's body was buried. "He…he was controlling us, but…well, now, he isn't, so – thank you." The fairy tugged on the tip of his ear, and he winced. "Oh, yeah, right," he muttered as the glowing orb whispered something. "Well, I also wanted to say sorry, you know…for the whole dagger thing and… Well, for all of us really."
I blinked, frowning slightly. "So he's been controlling you all this time?" The boy nodded. "I see…" He shuffled slightly, and scratched his neck. "Well, then I suppose…you're welcome," I gave him a nod, and he smiled tentatively at me. I returned the smile, and watched as he sped off to talk to the other Kokiri dotted around the village. I could see that they all had that different look about them, though I still couldn't really pinpoint what was different.
I noticed that the cloud of fairies which had arrived (:just in the nick of time:) was greatly diminished. Each one of the child-like creatures now had a glowing light hovering around them: only a few fairies were left above. Squinting, I noticed that Luna and Phoebus were amongst them. Luna noticed my look, and she and the yellow, smiling fairy flew down to talk to me. As soon as they were close enough to hear me, I asked, "What's going on?" Thankfully, they obviously understood what I meant.
"Well, now that the Lord's gone, his magic over the whole island is gone as well. According to some of the others," Luna nodded to the small circle of fairies above, "All of the Wolfos have reverted back into normal wolves, and the Kokiri are like their old selves again."
"And it's all thanks to you lad," Phoebus grinned, landing on my head and ruffling my hair affectionately.
"Hey!" I protested, shaking my head and sending him wheeling into the air. Luna laughed at this, and he just pouted sulkily. "Sorry," I had to force myself not to laugh, "just don't touch my hair, all right?" He nodded, still pouting, and I had to look away from him in order to control myself. The grey fairy was biting her knuckle in order to hold back more giggles; to help her get over it, I asked, "Why have all the Kokiri got a fairy with them now?"
"Oh, that's just old partners getting back together again," she answered straight away. I immediately regretted asking the question, because both she and Phoebus suddenly looked a little upset.
"What's wrong?"
"Hrm? Oh, nothing," the sad look had changed into a wistful one.
"What she means is…well…we never had partners, so…"
"And neither did that lot up there," Luna pointed upwards. "I guess we just feel a bit…a bit left out in the celebrations." She chewed her lip, and her sunbeam partner was quick to flit over and put an arm over her shoulders. "Silly, isn't it? Here we are, finally free of Him, and we're moping around like it's raining on a carnival day!" She drew herself up, shrugging off Phoebus' arm, and announced, "I'm going to go and fetch Hollo and a few of the other Koroks to take you back to the Great Deku Tree – you coming?" she nudged the male fairy in the side. He started, and then nodded, following in her wake as she zoomed off.
I just shook my head, and sat down on the soft grass again. :Maybe I'll go to sleep as well.: It had been one heck of a day after all…
Behind me, I heard Shadow wriggle, and turned around to see that she'd moved so that she was lying on her side. Her face twisted in discomfort for a minute as she fidgeted to find a comfortable position, before relaxing as soon as she stopped moving. A content smile crossed her muddy face, and I smiled as well. We made a good team. And, I'd actually managed to hold my own pretty well during the fight… I wondered what she thought about me… :Well, she left me on my own in that fight, so she must have thought I could handle it: I decided, thinking back to that morning.
:She was amazing though…there's no way I would have – actually, I don't think I could have carried on with all those injuries.: And, without this Dragmire's influence, it looked like we might actually become friends. :And if I carry on getting better at fighting, then maybe she-: A groan from the slumbering Sheikah caught my attention, and cut the thought off before I could finish it. :Don't be stupid: I told myself, rubbing my right leg, which was starting to get pins and needles from being still for so long.
Feeling suddenly restless, I stood up, and looked around for something to do. I spotted Shadow's bag half-buried under some yellow chrysanthemums a few feet away, and ambled over to it. When I saw a green gem glinting from the top of the front pocket, I remembered Red. :He'll probably be worried sick: After a moment of guilt over going through her bag, I bent down and picked up the stone anyway. :She won't mind: I decided to myself.
Once I had the stone, I walked a little further away from the fire-pit, so that I could lean against the trunk of one of the many trees that supported the elevated village. All around me, the Kokiri were chatting amicably with their new (:or old, depending on how you look at it:) fairy partners. A few of them had even started a game of tag, and were darting here and there all over the clearing to stay out of reach of the one who was 'it'. :I guess this must have been what they were like before the Lord came along.: They reminded me of myself when I was younger, carting Aryll around on my shoulders as we played hide-and-seek with Joel and Zill. I'd always found Aryll first, because she had this habit of breaking out in giggling fits as soon as I drew near to her hiding place.
I grinned, remembering the only game where Aryll had managed to elude me – and she'd been in such an obvious place!
We started the game around mid-morning: it was a bright sunny day, after weeks of rain, so we were all itching to go outside, and Grandma was eager to get rid of the two of us so that she could clean the house. We started off with Zill being 'it', after drawing straws – but he's always been a rubbish seeker, so he only managed to find Aryll before lunchtime. Of course, as soon as the smell of Grandma's cooking started wafting across the island, I jumped out from underneath Mesa's house (I think I actually managed to fall asleep after half an hour under there as it was), and hurried back home to eat.
The others were already there, having given up the game, and I was lucky that there was anything left to eat at all! (Thankfully, Grandma had held some of the soup back for me, because she knew it was my favourite.) It started to get windy outside, but not so windy that we couldn't carry on playing. So, after a word of warning from Grandma to come in if the weather got too bad, we ran off.
After drawing straws again, I was the seeker. As usual, I started counting loudly and slowly, "One…two…three…four…" As soon as I heard the sound of running footsteps die away, I sped up my counting, "eleven, twelve, twenty, twenty-five" until I eventually got bored and yelled out "A hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" It was easy enough to find Zill, because he had a cold, and sneezed loudly as I walked past his hiding place (crouched down behind the post-box). It took a little longer to find Joel, who was getting better and better at hiding as he got older. (He was in the reeds next to the washing pool).
It took about half an hour to find those two, and I was surprised that Aryll had managed to hide for so long. With the help of the others, I scoured the whole island, even going so far as to start up towards the woods. Though, to be honest, not even I would have ever hidden up there, and Aryll was too scared of the woods to even go anywhere near the path!
In fact, it was only when I glanced up at the lookout, after an hour's search, and saw a whole load of seagulls up there, that I realised how dumb I'd been! With the two other boys in tow, I scrambled up the ladder, to find Aryll snoozing against the railing. She woke with a start when I tapped her on the shoulder, and then giggled when she realised it was me. "Hey big brother!" Then, looking over my shoulder, she saw the other two, and her eyes widened in surprise, "does that mean I've won?" I just laughed,
"Yup, looks like it!" She blinked a couple of times, and then whooped in delight. By then, the wind was really starting to pick up, so we all had to hurry to our respective houses. And I don't think I've ever seen Aryll look as smug as she did when she told Grandma she'd finally beaten me at hide and seek. (She never let me forget it either, cheeky beggar!)
I shook my head, still grinning as I remembered her astonishment and pride. :As soon as we get back home, I swear, I'll let her win every single game we ever play.: With that thought in mind, I called out for Red, knowing that the sooner we got on our way, the better. :The sooner we go, the sooner I get Aryll back home and safe.: The stone glowed in my palm, and I murmured, "Red, are you there?"
"Yes, I'm here!" he answered back immediately, sounding flummoxed. "I've been trying to get in contact with you for ages! I need both of you to get back to me immediately – we have to leave as soon as possible!"
"Yeah, I know, but-"
"No buts – get Shadow and make your way back here now!" he barked. I just frowned, and answered him back, a little annoyed at his tone,
"No. We've just fought against a huge killer Wolfos-man thing, and I think we deserve a bit of time to rest. Besides, Shadow's out cold and I've got a twisted ankle, so we're not going anywhere just yet!" OK, so the thing about my ankle was a little white lie, but… The way he'd just demanded that we get back, without any sort of explanation!
"Rufus, we don't have time for this," he wheedled, "the fate of the Great Sea hangs in the balance – we can't afford to waste time!" I had to force myself not to yell as I reasoned,
"I know that, but I don't think we can afford to try and carry on when we're wounded, can we? I mean, don't we need to be in good health so that we can actually do what we need to?" I could hear him grumbling under his breath, and added, "Besides, I was sort of hoping to go back and watch the ceremony…" His grumbling stopped at this, and I gulped, unnerved by the sudden silence.
"WHAT!" he bellowed, the sound echoing around the village. Many of the Kokiri stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I shrugged helplessly, feeling my face turning redder and redder as the King of Red Lions started to spew out a string of foul language. "Why you- Can't believe that you'd, you little- Don't know why I even bother- All this- and wasting- time, could end up losing it all, and you- just-" Cradling my head in my right hand, I closed my fist over the stone in my left, which helped to muffle the sound a little.
Then, I hurried back over to Shadow's pack, and after dismissing Red with a shaky, "I'll talk to you later," over his cursing, I stuffed the green gem back into the pocket I'd taken it out of. I decided to leave the bag where it was, just in case Red called back. :Heh, I think he's just a bit annoyed with me now.: But, after managing to help defeat the giant Wolfos-man, Red didn't seem quite so scary as he used to. :Though some of those swearwords were pretty rude: I thought, twisting my hands together and feeling embarrassed. :I wonder what Grandma would say if she'd heard that: Red's voice continued in his angry tirade, but thankfully, I couldn't make out any words through the fabric of Shadow's bag.
Slightly surprised at my own actions, I sat down next to Shadow again, and looked up at the canopy overhead. The sounds of Red's protest soon died away into background noise, covered up by the sounds of the Kokiri as they continued their games. I let my mind wander, not really thinking about anything, and waited for something to happen.
I didn't have to wait long – all of a sudden, the girl in indigo shrieked loud enough to make a Kokiri who'd been showing off by balancing on a log, fall off and land with a multitude of cracks in a bush. Normally, something like this would probably have made me laugh, but that scream had scared the heck out of me! Bending over, eyes screwed up against the volume of her yell, I pressed my hand against her forehead, and tried to wake her up. :She must be having one bad nightmare:
"Shadow? Shadow, what is it? Shadow, can you hear me?" She jumped away from my touch, and turned her face away from me. I tried again, taking advantage of the gap in her scream when she ran out of air: "Shadow, it's me, it's Rufus – please, calm down, you're not well!" She sat up, and the claw marks in her chest blossomed with an alarming amount of red wetness. I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to lie down again so that she didn't end up making herself even worse. :Drat, I should have given her more potion the first time around: I panicked when I saw that all of wounds were open again.
She looked terribly pale, and her breath was ragged. I touched my hand to her forehead again, and when I measured her temperature against my own, I realised she had a fever, on top of everything else. Frowning, I reassured her with some nonsense words, and looked around to see if I could see Luna and Phoebus. :I wonder how long they'll be.: I didn't have a clue how far into the forest we were as it was, so it could be anything from a few hours to half the day…
Thinking back to how my Grandma used to deal with fevers, I remembered that she always used a cold compress to try and bring the temperature down. "You're still far too warm," I muttered, rummaging through my bag to find my bottle of water. Then, after a bit more searching, I managed to find a scrap of material at the very bottom of my bag. I rolled it up, doused it in water, and then rung it out. I placed the compress on her forehead, and held it there; as soon as the cold touched her skin, she looked up at me. "Does that feel better?"
"Yes, thank you," she answered, blinking quickly and waking up properly. I wondered what her nightmare had been about, but decided not to ask. After the answers I'd received in the past, I could guess that it hadn't been pleasant…
"Darling? Come on pet, it's time." A hand stroked the hair from my face, warm and dry against my fever-slicked skin. I wriggled slightly, and groaned as I found that everywhere ached terribly. "Shush love, it's all right, I have something for you." Lips ghosted across my brow, kissing my forehead and then my hair, before moving to my nose, and then my mouth. I cracked open one eye at this, and managed to jerk my head back in the tender hold the person had on me. He smiled, seemingly relieved.
I gaped. Opened the other eye. Blinked a few times. Registered what I saw. And screamed.
"Shadow? Shadow! What is it? Shadow, can you hear me?" A hand moved to press against my clammy forehead, and I jerked away. I drew another breath, wanting to scream away my nightmare, to scream until my lungs were empty and I could scream no more. "Shadow – it's me – it's Rufus. Please, calm down, you're not well!" At some point, I'd managed to sit up, and he gently, but firmly, pushed me to lie down again. The aching feeling of the dream had now turned into throbbing pain, and it was all I could do not to weep.
I fell silent, breath coming in short, sharp gasps. "There you go," Rufus murmured, hand now pressed against my forehead, the other against his own. "You're still far too warm," he said, more to himself than to me. I relaxed a little more, the blur of green that was Rufus (I couldn't seem to focus my eyes properly) real and solid. Nothing like the… :Gods, he… Why would he be so- Why did he? It must have been another trick, I…:
I started as something cold and wet touched my brow; it was only a compress, which Rufus carefully held in place. "Does that feel better?" I licked my lips (in doing so, I realised that my mask was gone), and managed to whisper,
"Yes, thank you." As my eyes focused, I was able to push away the disturbing dream…no, nightmare…that had awoken me. :Dragmire's good with his tricks…at least, if he's trying to disturb me, it's certainly working.: I expected an angry outcry at this thought, but he remained oddly silent. Indeed, I couldn't even feel him lurking around in the back of my mind, as he had before we began our quest for the lost Koroks… My mind was blissfully my own. :But, in that case, why did I…? NO! I wouldn't – couldn't – he…no:
I closed my eyes again, recollecting the short space of contentment within the dream. For dream I supposed it must be – the concoction of my own feverish mind. :How could I think of something like that? It's – it's not right! I shouldn't be thinking of-: I felt disgusted with what I seemed to have dreamed up by myself. Surely I couldn't secretly want Dragmire to- :To what exactly: To care for me…?
:No. It's just madness. I'm ill. It's made me crazy.: It was a feeble excuse, even to myself. But, it was better than trying to fathom just why I was dreaming of the enemy. Why I felt a slight longing to fall asleep again, to contain my scream, brush that auburn hair away from his face and… I gave myself a sharp mental slap, and opened my eyes to look up at Rufus, who was reassuringly battered and worn looking, to push the Gerudo out of my mind. "How are you feeling?" I rasped, drawing in breath carefully, as even small movements made my ribs protest.
His reaction to this was surprising. He just stared gormlessly at me for a second or two, and then snorted, before dissolving into a fit of laughter. I watched him as tears of mirth started in the corners of his eyes, and saw the bruises and cuts on his knuckles as he swept a hand across his wet cheeks. I wondered whether he himself was quite all right in the head. :Perhaps the forest has turned us both mad.: Suddenly, the events leading up to this flashed through my mind, and I stared at the glass bottle nestled in the grass by Rufus' foot.
I smiled slightly, able to see just what Rufus found so amusing. Despite the pain, I could understand just how funny my question must have seemed, all things considered…
When he managed to calm down enough to draw breath, he just nodded, answering in a tremulous, breathless whisper, "Fine, thanks."
"Good," I returned the nod awkwardly from my lying position. He seemed to suddenly remember something, and turned around to start digging into his bag. He came up with a bottle full of bright blue liquid, and uncorked it.
"Would you like any more of this?" he shook the bottle slightly; a few spatters of potion fell onto his legs – the large gash on his right knee faded away. "I gave you some whilst you were still out, but I didn't want to give you too much, you know?"
"Some more would be nice," I decided, extending a hand for the bottle. "How long was I out for?"
"Oh, only about an hour – there's still a good two or three hours left until sunset, so we have plenty of time to get back." He handed me the fine glass bottle, though didn't let go completely: instead, he helped me to tip the container so that I could drink from it. "Enough?"
"Yes thanks," I let him take the potion (the bottle was now about half empty), and sighed as I felt it beginning to work its magic. Then, curiosity took hold, and I asked, "Where are we?"
"Still in the village," he answered shortly, looking off the left at a rustling sound in the undergrowth. "And you're not going to believe what happened!"
"I think after all this, it'd be pretty hard to shock either one of us," I quipped, nervously tossing my head so that my hair (which was loose again) fell to cover at least half of my face. This done, I didn't feel quite so naked… "So, what's happened then?" He coughed a little to clear his throat before he started speaking, and then said,
"Oh, and don't worry – I told Red that we'd need a little bit more time; sorry, I had to use your stone for that…" I blinked at the name, before asking (though I could easily hazard a guess as to what the answer would be),
"And how did he respond?" The Hylian flushed slightly, and scratched the back of his head – he wasn't wearing his hat, and his hair stuck out at odd angles around his head.
"Not very well. He swore quite a bit actually," he gave me a conspiratorial half smile. "I ended up just stuffing the stone back into your pack – and sorry, I would have asked, but-"
"That's all right," I assured him. Now that he'd mentioned the King of Red Lions, I could recognize the tone of his voice, still ranting from whatever pocket in my bag Rufus had put the stone in. Thankfully, I was only able to make out a few of the choice words he was using: curiously, he seemed to be cursing in Goron.
"Just wanted to see what was happening," he supplied with a shrug, looking over his shoulder at a particularly loud exclamation. "I just wish I could figure out how to turn it off," he added with a frown.
"Speaking of what's happening, you said you had something to tell me," I prompted, struggling to get into a sitting position (:that potion works fast:). He reached out to help me, but I batted his hand away. A startled gasp escaped him, and I winced – I hadn't meant to… :It was just a reflex…that damned dream: "Nah, it's OK, I can do it," I murmured, trying to excuse the action. He didn't respond, and waited patiently for me to finally flump onto my backside facing him. Thankfully, the pain had been almost completely numbed, and though it was a little uncomfortable to sit up straight, I found that leaning on my right arm relieved the pressure on my ribs and made sitting bearable. "That's better…so…what am I 'not going to believe'?"
Thankfully, Rufus' features brightened a little at my question. "Well, there's quite a few things actually!" he shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable on the flower-carpeted ground, and then indicated the village around with his left arm. "For one thing, just take a look around." I did as he asked, quickly scanning my surroundings (and inwardly feeling horrified that I hadn't done it sooner) – we were surrounded. I went for my whip immediately, only to find Rufus wrapping strong fingers around my wrist. "No!" he hissed, though the smile was still there. "Look again – they're free now… They were under some sort of spell or something before, but now that the Lord is gone, they're back to normal!"
He released his hold, and I took another look around, this time doing so slowly so that I could take in the scene. :I can see what he means.: Gone were the cruel, child-like creatures of before, now replaced with true children; they ran and tumbled through the undergrowth, each one of them tailed by a glimmering fairy partner. Laughter rang through the forest, and I couldn't help the smile that came to my face. "I think we've been invited to the Korok's yearly ceremony as well," Rufus added, stretching languidly and plucking a few daisies from the ground.
"Sounds good," I nodded, scooping up my own handful of flowers, and inhaling their scent. :Lovely.: Now that we were free from any immediate danger, and the throbbing of my wounds had died down so that I barely noticed them, I felt able to appreciate the simple beauty of this place. Released from whatever dark spell it had been placed under, the forest was a veritable paradise…
"Rufus!"
:Looks like I'm going to be proved wrong: I thought, even as the Hylian and I scrambled to our feet, and looked skyward, seeking out the grey fairy. She came hurtling towards us from the other side of the village, a few other fairies following in her wake (Phoebus included). The Kokiri had ceased their games, and congregated around the two of us, faces curious and a little frightened. Self-consciously, I fumbled with my facemask, and managed to tie it loosely in place. It would have to do.
"What is it?" Rufus demanded as soon as Luna drew close. She halted a few feet before us, and I could see her chest rise and fall with her erratic breaths.
"The Lord-" she panted, and I felt as though the blue potion I'd swallowed earlier had turned to ice in my stomach.
"What about the Lord?" I prompted, taking a step forwards. A Kokiri to my left looked up at me in wonder, and then shyly looked away when I returned the gaze.
"H-he's gone," the small fairy said, her voice filled with a mixture of horror and disbelief. "We went back to…well…get rid of the body," this she said in a hurry – I wondered whether she was trying to prevent the Kokiri from understanding what she meant by this – before continuing, "and when we got to the place where he fell, there was nothing there."
"Nothing?" Rufus echoed, sounding as confused as I felt. "Were there any tracks? Maybe someone…or something…took him away?" Luna just shook her head,
"No, there was nothing – just an empty space where the body was… Come and see for yourself!" she bristled slightly, and the Hylian immediately assured her,
"I'm not saying that I don't believe you; it's just a bit weird." He looked over to me, and raised both eyebrows questioningly.
"We should probably go and have a look," I decided, in answer to his un-voiced question. "There might be some clue that you missed in your hurry." The grey fairy glowered again, but said nothing, instead turning around and zooming back the way she'd come. Rufus and I followed, with the Kokiri tentatively attempting to creep along behind us. With a small shake of the head, I wondered what even Firen, with his great clumsiness, would make of the small creatures' attempts at stealth. Twigs snapped and small curses filtered through the otherwise silent forest as toes were stubbed.
All thoughts of home were pushed to the back of my mind when we reached the scene of the battle. I could see the splintered remains of the tree in which the Lord had embedded his blade, and blood spattered the ground. :I wonder how much of it belongs to Rufus and I: I thought idly, bending down to see if I could spot any tracks that might indicate where the body had gone. My travelling companion did the same a few feet away, though I doubted he even knew what he was looking for. The fact that he was willing to try did make me feel grateful however.
Carefully, I swept aside the carpet of crushed flowers underfoot so that I could study the earth beneath for some clues. There was nothing…all the marks on the ground were far too old to be of any consequence, and the newer ones were all there from the fight. I frowned, and stood up – sometimes it was easier to make out patterns when you were farther away. Taking a few steps back, I motioned to Rufus, "Could you just step back for a moment?" He complied readily, and I saw the grey fairy land on his shoulder out of the corner of my eye: she had a smug look on her face, and crossed her arms over her chest in triumph.
:There! It's small, but it's there: I hurried forwards again, and bent down to scoop up a tiny glittering shard from amongst the soft flower petals. Only by standing back had I been able to catch the telltale glimmer of light moving over the object. My fingers caught on a sharp edge, and I winced as blood welled up from the small wound. :Ouch:. However, I ignored the small pain, and brought it closer to my eyes so that I could study it.
"What is it?" Luna asked breathlessly, having fallen from her mighty position and come to hover at the level of my right ear. I turned the pale amber, translucent thing over and laid it on my palm, the decorated side facing upwards.
"It's a crystal of some sort, though I'm not sure exactly what kind… Do you recognize the symbols?" I allowed her to land on my outstretch palm, and she knelt down in order to get a proper look at the gem-shard. After a few seconds, she reached out to touch it, and immediately flinched back; the tips of her fingers were blackened, and she squeaked in surprise and pain.
"What happened?" Rufus leant around my other shoulder to look at the grey fairy with obvious concern.
"Dark magic…very dark magic," she whispered, suddenly sounding terrified. "And I think I do recognise it now," she rocked back onto her haunches, and looked up at me. "We thought we had problems before…but I think things are going to get a lot worse for everyone." A shiver of dread ran through her – I could feel the vibrations through my palm…
The shadow of a man flitted through the trees, chasing after a mounted party and easily keeping up with them, as their horses became entangled in the dense vegetation. He moved silently, and with the grace of a Sheikah, though it was obvious by his build that he must be a Hylian. I gave chase, effortlessly keeping up with the hunter, and took up a hidden position when he stopped. He had taken a position directly above the four riders, who were cursing and trying to cut their way through the undergrowth: the horses were restless, and pawed the ground nervously.
One of the four below took a bow from their back, and notched an arrow, looking upwards with fear-filled eyes. He wore the full armour of an old Hylian guard, and I knew at once that this vision was far in the past. Curiously, I made to creep closer to the man, wondering who he was. But, before I'd even grabbed onto the next branch, he dropped to the leaf-litter carpeted ground with nary more than a whisper, and killed the Hylian man with one swipe of his blade.
I squinted, wondering for a brief second why the light wasn't penetrating the canopy with the same brilliance it had been only a moment before… And then, with a sick lurch, I realised whom I was watching. He picked off another two of the party with ease, red blood spraying and perfectly matching the colour of his glowing eyes. The last remaining Hylian was clutching onto the reins of his horse, eyes unfocused with madness as he watched his assailant draw nearer. "No – back – demon, get back, monster!"
Without any sort of preamble, the shadowy creature dispatched the last man, who slithered to the ground, still gargling through his torn throat, "demon, demon, evil…" He soon fell silent, and the shadow wiped his sword upon the clothes of the last Hylian.
"I'm no less a monster than you," he hissed vehemently, spitting on the now still corpse. "Vermin." He added a kick for good measure, and then suddenly looked skyward. Even though I knew he couldn't see me, my heart leapt into my mouth to have those eyes looking directly at me :through me:. All around him, the forest glowed with the merry green of spring…but no amount of light could ever make this creature appear merry, nor give him the same pleasant glow.
"The Shade," I said aloud as the vision left me. It had all passed through my mind in the blink of an eye, and I swayed slightly as the realisation hit me. It was only Rufus' suddenly deathly-tight grip on my shoulders that stopped me from stumbling.
"Surely, you don't mean what I think you mean," he gulped, relinquishing his grip. I blinked, and turned to look at him. By the look of horror on his face, it seemed he knew who I meant…:odd…I wouldn't have thought he would know…: I brushed aside this oversight on my part, and nodded.
"I'm afraid I do. And this must be what has kept him imprisoned here for all of these years…after the defeat in the Water Temple, Dragmire confined the Shade to the woods, in order to deal damage to the people and places that the Hero loved the most…"
"And now it's broken…" Rufus reached out to stop Luna from falling from my upturned palm, after managing to shakily regain her feet.
"He's been unleashed," she finished for him, smiling her thanks for his assistance. "I'm all right now," she added, taking to the air once more.
"But…" I frowned deeply, "why would he have taken up the form of the Lord?"
"Is it important?" she asked, gratefully accepting the comforting arm that Phoebus threw over her shoulder.
"It could be," I nodded, chewing my lip as I tried to figure out what we should do. I'd heard many tales about the Shade – the creature who had been fashioned to challenge the Hero, and had been his exact opposite – but never, even in my worst nightmares, had I expected to come across him. :Will he interfere with our quest: I supposed that was probably the main issue. :After so many years, will he still be loyal to Dragmire, or will he just be a rogue creature: Finally, I wondered, :How much damage will he cause now that he's loose:
Rufus seemed to echo my sentiments, as he wondered aloud, "What are we going to do?" whilst looking up at me, obviously hoping for a plan.
"Uh…" I began, staring at the broken piece of the ancient magical seal in the vain hope that it would give me an idea. Everyone gathered around – the fairies, Rufus, and the curious Kokiri – waited in silence for my next words. I felt sweat beading on my temples, and wished that they would stop staring at me so plainly! Desperately, I tried to seek out the sensible part of my mind: thankfully, a few deep breaths and mental repetitions of old class mantras made me feel more like my old, calm self.
After a few seconds to think my idea over, I looked at Rufus, and nodded slightly. "I do have an idea." His expression brightened immediately, and I felt an oddly strong surge of affection for the Hylian. :He has such faith in me… I only hope that I don't let him down.:
"Go on," he urged.
"Well – the other isle would probably be a lot safer, what with the protection of the Great Deku Tree, and the presence of all the other Koroks. Perhaps…perhaps if everyone could move to the other isle…at least until…until…"
"He's dealt with," Rufus supplied matter-of-factly, though there was a telltale tremor in his voice that said he hoped he wouldn't have to be the one to 'deal' with the Shade. I nodded,
"Exactly." He frowned, and then sighed heavily.
"Luna-" he began, but the fairy cut him off,
"Already on it." With that, she zoomed off, to start informing the Kokiri of their impending migration. Rufus sighed again, seemingly deflated. Realising that I really needed to lighten the mood before his morale hit rock bottom, I said,
"Well, I suppose at least Red'll be happy."
"Hrm?" he looked up at me with questioning eyes.
"Well, what with the move, the ceremony probably won't be happening today…which means we can 'get going' to wherever he says we need to go next." He blinked at this, and then chuckled softly,
"Good point." He looked at the scene around us, and then looked back at me. "I don't think there's really anything we can do…so…we may as well go back to Red."
"That's just what I was thinking." And with that, we set about saying our goodbyes to the forest village. Hurrying over to collect our belongings, I noticed that Red had fallen silent at last. I was relieved that the tirade was over, but it seemed a little strange…
I shivered as we hurried back towards the battlefield, though the afternoon air was warm and balmy. There was something suddenly wrong, and I hugged my arms around myself as Luna led the way. The Kokiri followed us, silent… The whole forest seemed suddenly empty, save for our footfalls, and the rustle of flowers that we trod underfoot. Even Red's voice had died away to nothing. I sucked in a breath of air as I caught sight of the huge patches of blood on the ground, and let it out slowly.
Shadow crouched down to search for clues, and I did the same, though I didn't really know what I should be looking for. Looking at her out of the corner of my eye, I copied her movements, and looked out for anything that seemed out of place. But all I found were twigs, leaves and mud. Nothing surprising there. Luna came down to hover next to me, casting light on the patch of earth I was scrutinizing, hoping to find something, but scared of what I might find.
"Could you just step back for a moment?" Shadow asked; she obviously hadn't found anything yet. I could see Luna's smug grin out of the corner of my eye, and made a note to tell her off for it later. The indigo clad girl was doing her best – she had been unconscious for quite a while after all! It's not like we could expect her to be able to figure out everything all the time- She suddenly bent down and plucked something from the flower-carpeted ground.
It glimmered in her hand, and Luna's smug look dissolved, to be replaced by one of extreme curiosity. She launched gently from my shoulder, and hung in the air next to Shadow's head. I walked over as well, and peered over her shoulder at the thing. It looked like a piece of glass…or maybe crystal…and it shone even though it was in the shade. I thought briefly that it looked about the same colour as Quill's eyes, though quickly returned to the conversation at hand when the grey fairy landed on Shadow's outstretched palm in order to look at the shining, yellow fragment.
"Do you recognize the symbols?" Shadow queried. Luna didn't answer, and instead tapped the thing with her fingers. She reacted as though the thing had burned her, yanking her hand back to her chest and yelping in pain.
"What happened?" I asked, thinking that perhaps I should go and get what was left of my blue potion for her. The shudder that ran through her when she next spoke rooted me to the spot, however.
"Dark magic…very dark magic…" I felt my heart sink at that. Anything involving magic didn't seem to be good, from what I'd experienced so far… "We thought we had problems before…" Luna looked up at Shadow, "but I think thinks are going to get a lot worse for everyone." The Sheikah girl's eyes widened for a second, and then comprehension dawned on her face.
"The Shade." I blinked, and my heart sank so much that it buried itself in the ground underneath my feet. My fingers clenched on Shadow's shoulder, and I let go as soon as I realised what I was doing. Hoping I'd mis-heard, I stammered,
"Surely, you don't mean what I think you mean." She turned to look at me, and her eyes said it all. :Oh Gods no.: I thought back to the many stories of the old days my parents had told me, and the ones I'd read myself when I was older, borrowing from Sturgeon's huge collection of books. Ganondorf was the villain yes, but it had always been the Shade that had woken me with nightmares, cold sweat on my forehead, and Grandma having to sooth me back to sleep. And now, the thing of my nightmares – which Grandma had assured me could never hurt me – was suddenly a very real threat.
"I'm afraid I do. And this must be what has kept him imprisoned here for all of these years…after the defeat in the Water Temple, Dragmire confined the Shade to the wood, in order to deal damage to the people and places that the Hero loved the most…" The grey fairy in her palm swooned, and I reached out to catch her as she fell.
"And now it's broken…"
"He's been unleashed," Luna supplied, leaning on my fingers for a few more moments before taking to the air again. "I'm all right now," she nodded at me.
"But why would he have taken up the form of the Lord?" I looked incredulously at Shadow, thinking that this was an odd question.
"Is it important?" the grey fairy asked before I could get there. The girl nodded,
"It could be."
"What are we going to do?" I asked, looking firstly at the shining thing and then at my travelling companion. I didn't even have a starting point for a plan, and I hoped that she'd come up with something brilliant to make up for my lack of contribution. It didn't take very long, and again I felt it awe of her ability to stay calm under pressure.
"I do have an idea." I smiled at her encouragingly,
"Go on."
"Well, the other isle would probably be a lot safer, what with the protection of the Great Deku Tree, and the presence of all the other Koroks… Perhaps…perhaps if everyone could move to the other isle…at least until – until-"
"He's dealt with," I finished, hoping fervently that we weren't going to be the ones dealing with him. She nodded, and I felt slightly better at the look of apprehension that I could see on her face as well.
"Exactly."
"Luna-" I began, but she'd already figured out what I was going to say, and zipped off,
"Already on it!" She flew from Kokiri to Kokiri, babbling instructions as she went. I sighed as I watched her, and wondered why I hadn't thought of Shadow's plan…as soon as she'd said it, it had seemed like the obvious thing to do. :Well, I'm not exactly here because of my brains, am I: I reasoned, though it didn't do much to make me feel better.
"Well…I suppose at least Red'll be happy."
"Hrm?" I glanced up at Shadow, not sure what she was getting at.
"Well, what with the move, the ceremony probably won't be happening today…which means we can get going to wherever he says we need to go next." I laughed at this, and silently hoped that Red wouldn't be too angry with me over our previous conversation. The fact that he'd stopped yelling seemed like a good sign that he might have cooled off.
"Good point," I took a quick look around, and then decided, "I don't think there's really anything we can do…so…we may as well go back to Red."
"That's just what I was thinking," she agreed with a slight nod of the head. "Shall we go and get our things then?"
"May as well." Together, we walked away from the bloody and churned mud of the battleground. As soon as we were away from it, I felt the tension in my limbs ease up a little…though not much. The fear that the Shade could come upon us at any moment made the hair at the base of my neck bristle, and I could feel my palms beginning to sweat. I looked at Shadow to gauge her reaction to the situation, and noticed that her right hand never strayed far from the handle of her whip, even when she hurriedly sorted out the straps on her bag as she flung it over her shoulder. I took my cue from her, and as soon as I had my pack, I unsheathed my sword.
"Probably a good idea," she murmured with an approving nod. She slipped the whip from its catch on her belt, and held it coiled in her fist. "I can't sense anything close by, but, in this forest…well…it's hard to get my bearings," she admitted. "Best to be prepared."
"Yeah…" Towards the other end of the village, the Kokiri began to herd together, and set off down a rugged footpath that must lead towards the sea. I wondered how they were going to get back to the other island – I mean, they couldn't fly like the Koroks, and the cliffs were huge. Just as I wondered that, another thought struck me – how were we going to get back to the other island? Just as I was about to voice this question, Luna turned back from her position at the head of the line of Kokiri, and flew fast as an arrow back to us.
"I almost forgot – the Koroks said that they'd collect you from the cliffs…that's where we're all going. You two can go first, and I'll set up a relay for the rest," she informed the two of us breathlessly. (Or rather, she looked at me the entire time she said it, and only gave Shadow the barest of nods before flying off again.) I made another mental note to tell the grey fairy to be nicer to my companion the next time we met.
The cold dead body of the girl was heavy in his arms, but he couldn't leave her. She was the last thing left to him – the Gerudo had taken everything else. Soon, if he didn't figure something out, he would take her as well, and then there would be nothing left. There would be no help from the Hylian; no one would help a traitor to the King after all, least of all the King himself. He clutched the girl tight, her chestnut hair soaking up his tears as he urged the horse to go faster, desperate to be lost within the sands of the desert forever. He was alone, and he was nothing – the magic called insistently, and he wanted to give in, to stop feeling – he fought it, just as he had all the other times.
But in the end, just like all the others before him, and the countless others there would doubtless be after him, he gave in. The comforting tendrils of fiery magic seeped into every pore, and his grip on the girl loosened: the horse slowed, and as soon as it drew to a stop, he hopped to the ground, discharging the girl with little more care than he would any other package. The Gerudo drew level, and smiled a smile that had charmed a thousand and more. A final remnant of the man he'd been before this mess began rose to the surface, and the last thing he remembered was the hatred that made his eyes burn red.
By the time we finally drew near to the beach on the Forest Haven, the sun was low in the sky, and I could see the first few stars appearing in the sky. Throughout the journey, neither Shadow or myself had put down our weapons, and my left arm was starting to get sore from carrying the weight of my sword. When we came to a particularly tricky section of the downward slope, I re-sheathed the blade, and slithered down sideways, to meet up with Shadow at the bottom. She caught me when I stumbled, and I gave her an exhausted but thankful smile.
"Nearly there," she assured me, and my smile widened.
"Thank the Gods for that – I was beginning to think the island had grown a few thousand feet since we were last here!" She chuckled and shook her head a little at this, before picking her way down the rugged path with the grace of a mountain goat. I plonked along behind her, just glad that I hadn't yet taken a tumble.
Heights certainly weren't my thing. The flight back to the Forest Haven had been bad enough; I think I probably kept my eyes closed all the way. At least this time the landing had been a little softer! And it had been nice to say a quick goodbye to the Koroks (especially Hollo) before we had to leave.
"Ooof!" I'd been so busy thinking, that I'd managed to walk straight into Shadow, who'd suddenly stopped dead. "What is it?" I asked, dropping my voice to a whisper as I realised that something was wrong. She didn't answer straightaway, and instead delved into her pack, and drew out the green gem. "Shadow?"
"Red?" she tried softly. The gem remained dull, and there was a note of panic in her voice when she said, "there's no answer."
"He's probably just asleep," I tried to assure her, though I could feel the hairs standing up on the back of my neck again. Stepping around the Sheikah, I looked down at the beach…but I couldn't spot the King of Red Lions. The tree we'd moored him too still had a length of rope tied around it…the end was frayed, and bobbed slightly in the rising tide…
It had been cut.
DUN DUN DUN!
Cough, cough. Yay the angsty back-stories!
Also, sorry this was such a short chapter. But, after H-7 managed to return an email to me within twenty four hours of me sending one, I thought I'd rise to the challenge and post a new chapter. Cos I'm awesome grins.