"Why do you have those marks on your arm?" Sheikora asked. Mara laughed.
"Sheikahs create their own spells, and each spell needs a creator and tester!" the olderwoman said, tracing a long finger along one scar on her left arm. "Why looked so surprised?"
"How does that relate to those scars?" Sheikora was annoyed with the lack of explanation.
"It's dangerous magic. It's one thing to create a spell, but testing the spell, even if the spell is a little spell, could result in death. The creator is 'tested' to make sure the spell will work. So, when the spell is cast for the first time by the tester, the tester is put in some sort of test with the Goddesses… which could result in death if the tester is to fail," Mara replied cheerfully. "To any onlookers, it would look like the tester is in some sort of trance. When the four long scars look like they've been cut open all over again, the tester has passed! But… since I'm tested so often, they are permanent scars."
"So you're a creator and a tester?" she asked doubtfully.
"Now you're getting it! Ha ha ha!" the Sheikah laughed. "The Council usually calls me every couple of months to create and test! Any Sheikah can do it, but I'm the only one the Council trusts with this heavy responsibility! Isn't it grand!" Mara looked smug.
"Or maybe they just want to kill you and haven't succeeded yet."
Chapter 11
"Impa, why are you going away again?" Sheikora whined. Even though Sheikora was more agreeable than Princess Zelda ever was, she still whined occasionally.
"More and more things keep coming up," Impa murmured, pulling a black cloak over herself.
"My eyes aren't that important!" Sheikora couldn't hold it in any longer. She didn't give a damn why her eyes were red, so why should Impa? The Sheikah woman whirled around, startled.
"Why have you been thinking that?" Impa looked genuinely surprised.
"Isn't that why you've been gone?" Sheikora asked, wondering if Mara had lied.
"Partly," Impa replied curtly. Looking around, she lowered herself to the girl's eye level. "There've been rumors that the well in Kakariko dried up, and a green-clad boy with a fairy is running around. It's said that he was the cause of it."
"What!" Sheikora jumped to her feet. "Link dried up the well in Kakariko?"
"That's what I'm going to investigate!" Impa said with excitement, and maybe a hint of worry, pulsing through her voice. "Stay here until I get back!" Sheikora nodded.
She caught Impa grabbing a Nut out of a bag similar to her own, and understood how Impa had disappeared all those times. She was using a Sheikah Nut all that time!
"My turn!" Sheikora said after Impa had gone, eagerly pulling a Nut out of her own. Visualizing the Temple of Time, she threw it on the ground with a crack.
There was the familiar feeling of weightlessness, and Sheikora clapped her hands as she felt her feet touch the stone floor of the Temple of Time. There was a definite change in this building from last time.
She approached the once-empty altar, awed by the three glittering stones nestled into the holes. She looked up from the stones to where the Door of Time once stood. It was gone.
Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it would burst. She ran to the side of the altar and up through the large opening in the wall, seeing a window casting light on something metallic. Creeping up to the metallic thing, she gasped. The gasp echoed throughout the Temple.
It was a sword.
Almost hesitantly, Sheikora walked slowly up to the sword. Was this the Master Sword? It had to be!
She bit her lip, and looked around the rest of the room. Six symbols were engraved onto the floor. Sheikora backed away. She wasn't supposed to have left the ranch…
Tearing her eyes from the room, she turned around, and ran out of the Temple. The market. If Link had returned, he'd have to go through the Market. And someone would have had to see him!
"Excuse me, sir," Sheikora asked a man who was standing closest to the Temple. "I was wondering, have you seen a blonde boy wearing green in the past few days?"
"Nope, can't say I have. Sorry, lad," the man replied, looking away quickly to avoid her eyes. Sheikora stared at him. Did he just say "lad?" She supposed it was an easy mistake to make, since she took to wearing loose pants and a shirt rather than a dress. Dresses got in the way of her training. Shaking her head, she ran and asked several people, with no one having any information.
"…so much worse,"a mansaid to another. Curious, Sheikora turned around.
"The Gorons have stopped tradingwith us,too, since King Ganondorf came to power… not doing well for my wife's bombchu business, either. Half of the prizes for that game are bombs!" a man was complaining to another.
"The Zoras aren't thrilled about the King either," the first man replied. "It's getting harder to get the fine fish they raise."
"What could happen now?" the other man said, throwing up his hands in frustration. Puzzled, Sheikora ran away from them. It was useless. People were too wrapped up in their problems to remember a boy wearing green.
The girl darted into a back alley, digesting all that she heard. The Gorons had stopped trading? True, the leader of the Gorons could be very stiff, and it had taken years for her father to become a "Sworn Brother," and have a comfortable relationship with the mountain people. They must not be happy with a new man in power.
Though the Gorons were understandable, nothing she could think of could explain the Zoras. For generations, the water peoplepeacefullytraded their goods. What did that man mean by "it's getting harder to get the fish?"
Sheikora shook her blonde head. All of this was bad. Nothing like this ever happened during her father's reign! All of this was Ganon's fault, she knew! Somehow…
Reaching into her satchel, she drew out another Nut. Picturing the ranch, she vanished from the alley.
Sheikora played with a blade of grass, distraught. With all this bad news, she needed to know if Link was back to stop it. She also wanted to help Impa with whatever it was she was doing.
"Are y'all right?" Malon asked, walking over with Epona in tow.
"I'm fine," she replied, bringing herself back to reality. "I- Did Link come here at all?"
"When?" Malon asked.
"Recently?" Sheikora asked hopefully.
"Sorry, but I haven't seen 'im in months," the red-headed girl replied. "Why?"
"Just curious," Sheikora sighed. An awkward silence fell between them for a few moments before Malon took it upon herself to break it.
"What really happened to yer hands?" she asked. "It's been ages since you put the bandages on."
Sheikora suddenly felt strange. Even with Mara or Impa, talking about her Triforce mark made her feel slightly ashamed. The two Sheikahs, with one being a Council member, took so much out of their own time to assist her, which they probably wouldn't do if she didn't have it. Then there was always the possibility that Ganon would find her whenever she spoke of it…
"I'll tell you later," Sheikora said, standing up. "After Impa gets back, I'll tell you."
That was the worst lie Sheikora had ever told, and it hurt even more because she doubted it would ever be cleared up. She turned from her friend, and walked slowly toward the other side of the ranch, away from anyone's eyesight.
"Mara, are you here?" Sheikora asked.
"Of course I am! Impa sent for me as soon as she left! But you weren't here when I arrived!" Mara leapt down from the roof of the barn, seizing the collar of Sheikora's shirt, anger filling her gray eyes.
"I was looking for Link," Sheikora replied fiercely, amazed at Mara's anger. "But I have to get out of here."
"Oho, you better! Impa's going to be pissed when she returns!" Mara yelled, but her angry look soon changed to one of delight. She let go of her collar. "Oh, she will be pissed off! Perhaps I should leave you here…"
"No, no!" Sheikora yelled at the brunette. "You don't get it! Malon… she's asking too many questions… I don't know what to tell her!"
"Tell her you're dead, because you will be when your nanny gets back!" Mara grinned wickedly. Then she sighed. "But, I understand now. You do need to get out of here. Not even Malon can know about your Triforce. I can explain to Impa… though it would be much funner if I tied you to a tree and watched with glee as she slowly ripped your heart out with a toothpick."
Sheikora didn't know how to respond to that remark. Wasn't Mara just really worried a moment ago? Fortunately, Mara broke the silence with a "Ha ha ha! So, tell me where my little princess is being taken to."
"What?"
"Oh, you know. If you leave, you need to go somewhere. I can save you a journey and take you somewhere myself… But then you're on your own. Unless Impa decides to stay with you instead of dealing with her own problems…"
Her own problems? What was that supposed to mean? She looked desperately into Mara's eyes, which only returned a calm knowing of something.
"She will tell you in her own time. But the Coucil has assigned me a task, and you will help me pull it off!" Mara clapped her hands together with excitement.
"Why should I help you?" Sheikora glared at the Sheikah. When did Mara decide this?
"Because," Mara replied in a singsong voice, "if you do, I can guarantee entry into the Sheikah Council to figure out your eyes! That means a meeting with Swan herself!"
"What?"
"Life's full of questions, but the one's you're asking aren't wise ones, Princess of the Triforce of Wisdom," Mara replied. "The Sheikah Council is trying to awaken the Sages of the six temples, to send Ganon away. However, evil magic that flows from the castle is muting the call to the Sages. So we're trying to locate them ourselves. Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Spirit, Shadow. But I'm going to be testing a spell to try and weaken the magic that is stopping the awakening call. The Temples themselves are consumed by evil, and it is killing Sheikahs who get too close. Many are dead already from trying."
Sheikora's heart skipped a beat. "So they can't try and help you? Why aren't you dying?"
"'Cause I haven't gotten that close," Mara replied gravely. "So we need a human, preferablywithsome power, to locate them."
"Oh, no!" Sheikora groaned. "What am I supposed to do?"
Mara ran a hand through her short brown locks. "We are assuming that the Sages already feel a connection to their Temple, so they are probably too close to the Temples for the Sheikahs to get too close to them. That's where you come in! I, your lovable mentor, am begging you to find the Sages! Once found, we can point the Hero of Time in their direction easily upon his return!"
"How long will this take?" Sheikora asked, unable to believe her own ears.
"Could be years. But, hey, look on the bright side!" Mara grinned. "It'll give you something to do! And I can help you in your various history and magic lessons whenever I'm not being tested… assuming we're in a nice, big field as opposed to a temple area."
"I don't know…" Sheikora replied hesitantly. Mara sighed.
"Big adventure, or never-ending boredom. Big, important people, or little insignificant chickens. Playing with swords, or playing with pitchforks. Oh… pitchforks… I love pitchforks… Please, forget I compared those two!" Mara grinned devilishly, but Sheikora was off in a world of her own. She really wanted to feel useful, and it would give Impa her own time to let her deal with her own issues…
"Deal," Sheikora nodded. Mara nodded back.
"Get your stuff, say your goodbyes… and we'll make our first stop to the Temple of Time, since the Temple of Time is also the home of the Light Temple. I'll be leaving you at the entrance to the Town Market. I'll meet you back here," Mara instructed.
Sheikora darted inside, grabbing her Nuts and harp, belting her dagger to her waist and shoving the books in a bag. She looked around the room, oddly at peace with herself.
"You're leavin', ain't ya?" a quiet voice at the doorway said.
"Malon," Sheikora said with a sigh. She had hoped to leave quietly.
"I won't keep you long…" Malon said. "There's somethin' about you that… I knew you was disappearin' from here, in your head." She shook her red head sadly. "You've got more important stuff to do than be in a ranch… but I'm glad you came. Promise you'll visit, if you ever find a moment?"
"I promise," Sheikora said firmly. Malon looked like she was going to cry, then ran across the room and embraced her friend quickly. Surprised, Sheikora returned the hug, wonderingwhen she would see her friend again.
Malon let go, trying to smile. Sheikora forced herself to smile for her friend, before walking out the door to meet Mara.
Biiiig chapter- also a very very hard one for me… I think it's the longest chappey-poo yet! But I find that the longer the chappey-poos, the more confused my thoughts get... but I could be wrong.
I also started playing OoT again, starting at the beginning, catching silly mistakes I've made(but I'll ignore them because I don't want to confuse myself… haha.). I would also like to say that the Spiritual Stone thing is really bugging me- it's sooooo tedious! You know what also bugs me? Navi. She's always like "Hey" and I'm all like "lkfjla;jaldjf" at her. Then there are the Cuccos… I attacked one and nearly killed myself in the process. They really scare me. No joke.
Another thing, concerning Mara- I've gotten a question on this, and decided to clear it up in case anyone else was wondering. I have not decided, Mara's orientation, but figure if I do, I won't put it in here. I'm planning a sequel for this one(no promises. it's still a long way off.), and perhaps I'll share it in it, but not this one. This is Zelda's thing, and don't want too much of Mara to ruin it.