Chapter Eight

"Melody!" Annie shouted as she ran through the streets and towards the inn. "Melody!" She was in a state of near panic, making it nearly impossible for her to think straight. She turned the corner sharply and collided into Zale. He caught her before she could fall to the ground and pulled her to her feet. He drew her close to him as she began to sob.

"Shh," he murmured softly. "Dry those tears and tell me what is the matter." Her sobs just became harder. Zale waited patiently for her sobs to abate, all the while softly stroking her head.

After a few minutes she pulled away from his and sniffed softly. "M-my father… he's… sob… hurt."

"Where?"

"J-just out-t-side of… sob… town."

He knelt down and looked her in the eye. "Look, I know your upset, but you need to tell me what happened."

Annie nodded and swallowed. "We… we were attacked… It hurt Father…"

"Where is Zelda?" he asked her, panic in his eyes. "Where is she?!" He shook her shoulders when she didn't respond.

"Gone," she whispered at last.

Zale cursed softly as he stood. He ran his fingers through his hair, fighting to stay in control of his emotions. He wouldn't allow himself to panic. "Run back to your father. I will be there as soon as I can." He turned her around and pushed her. She stumbled and then broke into a run. Zale ran towards the inn, where Melody was practicing sword techniques. She was sharp, so it hadn't taken her long to learn all of the bookwork, but her skill with weapons was lacking. Five weeks with a wooden sword and she still hadn't got the basics down. Her biggest fault was she tended to rush things instead of taking it nice and slow. For some reason he couldn't fathom, she didn't use her brain while fighting, which was something that could easily get her killed.

"Melody!" he shouted as soon as he saw her. "Get your butt into gear and follow me!"

She knew from the expression on his face and the tone of his voice that it wasn't wise to argue. She ran after him, not even taking time to drop the wooden sword in her hand.

Melody paled as she arrived at the scene of the attack. The wagon had been overturned and torn to pieces. In several spots the ground was black with ash. She could still feel the heat in the air. Zack was nowhere to be seen, but she could make out several of his hoof prints in the dirt. Annie was leaning over the still body of their father.

"No…" she breathed. Her knees wobbled and she slowly walked over to him. She knelt and studied his chest. To her relief she could see it rising and falling. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she glanced at his wounds.

His right leg was mangled and twisted at a grotesque angle. His side was bleeding and his left arm had been burned. A large gash could be seen on his forehead.

"Move aside," Zale said to the two girls. They moved, giving him room to sit. "Where's a fairy when you need one?" he muttered and began to check Link's wounds. "He looks worse than he actually is," he told the girls, knowing he had to calm them down. "The wounds on his forehead and side aren't very deep and his arm was burned from the heat of the flame, not the flame itself. He's got two cracked ribs, but those will heal in time. The only wound I'm worried about is his leg. He's not going to be walking for awhile."

"Is he going to be all right?" Annie asked.

Zale looked up at her. "The sooner we get a stretcher here to take him to The Fairy's Return the sooner he will be on the road to recovery."

Annie nodded and took off running towards the hospital.

"What happened?" Melody asked softly.

"He found her," he said grimly. "I'm not sure how he knew she would be coming here, but he found her."

"Who found who?" Melody asked in confusion, still watching her father's chest. "Where's my sister?"

"I'm not quite sure what exactly happened, but Zelda's been kidnapped." He felt Link's pulse.

"No… I have to rescue her." She took a step forward on shaky knees.

"She's gone," Zale said. "She's gone."

Unable to hold them back any longer, Melody burst into tears.

Melody stared at her father numbly. He was asleep in one of the hospital beds. A splash of color had returned to his face, but he was still pretty pale from loss of blood. Annie sat in a chair next to Melody. She had been treated for a few minor scratches, but that was all.

Zale walked into the room and sat in the remaining chair. "Annie… could you please tell us what happened?" he asked her gently. "We need to know."

She nodded and reluctantly began to speak. "We… we were coming to purchase supplies… We were almost there when…" She swallowed painfully. "When a large dragon appeared… he must have been at least as big as a two-story house, if not bigger… He was completely black, except for his eyes, which were red. Father… he seemed to know what the creature was here for. He instantly leapt up in front of… of Zelda. He tried to fight off the dragon, but it was too powerful…" She sniffed softly. "It took her away… and I… I did nothing to stop it…" Tears threatened to fall from her already crimson eyes. "I'm so useless…"

"There was nothing you could have done," Zale said gently. "Which way did the dragon go?"

"West."

Melody looked out of the window at the setting sun. 'West…' she thought. 'Zelda's somewhere to the west. That's where I need to go. West…'

Vincent sat in the back of the bar, sipping a drink. Things were going along perfectly. His master had the girl and Zale couldn't leave yet because of his responsibility to the family. Soon Melody would leave to rescue her sister and she would be killed on her journey. As soon as Melody left a siege would be placed on this town, making it impossible for Zale to go after her. He chuckled softly. Everything was falling into place.

She was headed west. Around midnight she had gotten up and saddled the horse Zale that bought her, Lightning. She had packed everything she needed for her journey in the saddlebag and left. With her sword and shield strapped to her back and the stars shining down on her she felt confident and full of hope.

"I'm going to make everything right again," she whispered to Lightning. She patted the brown and white mare. "I'm going to get my sister back." She looked up at the landscape to see trees in the distance. She shuddered. Those trees belonged to Jiodow Forest, a place of unspeakable horror. Everybody avoided the forest like they avoided the plague. She was planning to travel along the outskirts.

She leaned against her horse's neck. The only sound that could be heard for miles was the thud of the horse's hoofs striking the ground. Soon the noise changed into a soothing lullaby, singing her to sleep. Her eyelids drooped and her breathing slowed. Lightning, unguided, walked into Jiodow Forest, the forest of shadow.

Yea! My writer's block for this story has officially broken! Now things have finally been set into motion.

Review peoples! You know you want too!