Author's Notes: Another chapter to break the cliffhanger that I left last time! I typed this up over my three day weekend and I've just finished editing it. Italics are thoughts, as usual. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Link or anything else from the games. Nintendo has the honor to own it. I also don't own the quote. However, I own Celestria as well as my OCs.
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"Tough times are there so you can have a good time later on—and really appreciate it."
-- Anonymous
Chapter 14: Can Life Get Any Tougher?
The first thing she noticed when she regained consciousness was that her face was pressed into something wet. Carefully pushing herself up into a sitting position, Midna blinked a few times. She was in a forest and the wetness had come from the moist mulch that coated the forest floor.
Forest? For a few moments, Midna sat there, trying to recall what she was doing in a forest. She raised a hand up to her face to smudge off the dirt before moving it to the back of her head where a small pain had begun thudding. Feeling that small bump and some sticky blood in her mussed hair, Midna slowly recalled the events of the… How long ago had it been? She wasn't sure.
All I can remember is… We were all at Kamaria's coronation. She exiled us! And threw Link into the dungeon. She could still remember the look on Link's face as he was dragged away. Was he dead yet? She hoped not. Maybe if she had fought harder and if she hadn't hesitated in smashing the guards… No, it wasn't her that had hesitated. Vei! Where is he?
There was a light groan from her right. Midna turned her head to look at the fallen figure of Veiviser. The new cloak he had donned just for the coronation was dirty and torn. She couldn't tell if he had sustained any injuries, but it was probable that he sported a similar bump on his head.
"Vei." Midna called to him.
The boy waved his hand through the air, muttering, "Just a few more minutes."
Midna glared at him in annoyance before sighing. It wasn't worth the energy to be angry with Veiviser when there was a much better target for her fury a few miles, maybe many miles, away. In a louder voice, Midna called out,
"Veiviser, get up!"
Veiviser groaned again before shakily pushing himself up to his knees. The boy lifted the heels of his hands up to his face and pushed them into his eyes. He sat like that for a few seconds before opening his eyes. There had been a smile on his face when he had awakened, but the smile fell as he took in his surroundings. Veiviser's eyes fell on Midna's face.
"Why are we out here in the middle of nowhere?" Veiviser asked bluntly.
"Kamaria's guards knocked us out and threw us here." Midna replied, her voice reaching an irritated note as she said the queen's name.
"Oh yeah…" Veiviser's ears fell as he thought about the events at the coronation. His topaz eyes stared at the ground in deep thought. "Why do you think she did it? She must know we're not traitors."
"Maybe someone tricked her." Midna shrugged. "Or maybe she's just a manipulative, little—"
"No!" Veiviser yelled at Midna, interrupting her sentence. The boy shook his head desperately. "She can't be! She's my friend! Someone must have put a spell on her! Yes, that's it. That's why she's acting like this."
Midna opened her mouth to tell Veiviser that she doubted his idea was true when she noticed that two streams were slowly clearing away the grime on Veiviser's face. The tears were falling rapidly, sliding down his face as he sobbed.
"I know Kamy and she's been my best friend since we were little. She would never throw me out unless there was clear evidence that I had done something. And she wouldn't do it because of a rumor or a hint. She's not like that." Veiviser leaned his head back, the rest of his words turning into undistinguished sobbing.
Midna let out a small growl of irritation. This wasn't how she wanted to spend her day. She didn't want to be sitting in the middle of some forest, with a hysteric Veiviser was her only companion while Link rotted away in a prison cell. Why did things always have to turn out tough like this? Couldn't things go right for once?
Seeing as his crying was not getting any better (in fact, Midna was positive that it was getting worse), Midna stood up and walked over to Veiviser. Forming her hand into a fist, Midna brought the fist into Veiviser's cheek.
Instantly the insane sobbing stopped. Veiviser stared up at Midna with vulnerable eyes, sniffing occasionally but otherwise silent. His face was a mixture of drying salt from the tears, dirt, and snot.
"That's better." Midna sighed, not stating anything about Veiviser's face. He didn't need any more injury at the moment. "Now that you're back to being a civil being, we can wash up and then find a way back to Lunaris."
A smirk broke out on Veiviser's face. "You certainly do need to wash up." He glanced up at her face and then at her muddied clothing.
Midna returned his smirk. "Look who's talking."
--
Aleron stood in front of the double doors of the throne room, a few hours after the coronation's end. The feast had gone on as planned and while Aleron had attempted to approach the queen multiple times, there had always been too many guests around for him to argue with her. So he had decided to save his arguing for later when he would be able to get her to listen to him with full attention.
The door opened. "You may come in now." Porter mumbled, his head bowed. He had stuck loyally with Kamaria, but it was clear that it was simply out of job preservation. While he wouldn't admit it, Porter had begun to like Veiviser after meeting him a few days ago and the exile had shook him deeply. Not that it showed on his placid face.
"Thank you, Porter." Aleron replied.
Aleron did not blame Porter for not arguing to help out Midna, Link, and Veiviser. They weren't his responsibility and Aleron knew that the gardener had family to support. Risking his job for the sake of three people he barely knew wasn't worth it for Porter. For Aleron, if it had not been his son, he might have allowed this to pass, simply turning a blind eye to the injustice. Then again, he had always been a man of justice and this unfair punishment stirred serious problems in his mind.
"What did you want to speak to me about, Aleron?" Kamaria sat on her throne. The crown still sat on her head as she looked down on Aleron.
Aleron had stopped in front of the stairs leading up to her throne. He craned his head up to look at her small figure before beginning a speech he had planned ever since the announcement.
"I don't believe that Midna, Veiviser, and Link should be punished."
Kamaria's eyes narrowed. "Are you challenging your monarch?" Somehow, Aleron imagined that her voice sounded much more mature than it once had. And a lot more sinister.
"No, your Majesty. I just don't see what evidence there is to lead you to punishing the trio. From what I've heard about your accusations, it all sounds like the musings of someone who wants to find wrong in someone who has done nothing."
"Are you accusing me of accusing someone for no reason?" Kamaria's glare had intensified, but Aleron stared back calmly.
"No. I don't believe you would do such a thing. I just wish to know what concrete evidence you have." Aleron spoke humbly. Being humble was the way he had managed to never anger Galathron, so he hoped it would work with his sister.
"I've caught wind of some conversations the trio had involving manipulating me to indirectly rule over Lunaris. Did you know that your son had plans to chase away all my future suitors, so he could marry me himself and secure himself a place of power?" Her tone was oddly malicious, not at all the tone Aleron would've expected.
Aleron blinked in surprise. "I've never known Veiviser to be so… ambitious." Aleron settled on the word, deciding that it was one that did not fit his son at all. To his knowledge, Veiviser lacked ambition; his only goal was to live life happily. "Are you sure you didn't just overreact to some false rumors?"
"I'm positive." Kamaria flicked her hand towards the door. "Now if you don't have anything else to say, I'd like for you to leave."
Aleron barely concealed a scowl at her dismissive gesture, but he was a pro at not showing his emotions and his face stayed expressionless. "Actually, I'd like to ask you if there was any more evidence. Perhaps you misinterpreted their conversations, or perhaps someone tricked you."
"Aleron, I don't like being talked to as if I was a foolish child. It was their mistake to believe that I would be easy to play with and they paid for it. Now if you don't want to join them, I recommend you leave." The threat in her voice was clear and Aleron knew that she would be willing to carry it out.
"Very well, your Majesty." Aleron bowed his head as he backed away. "Goodbye."
As he passed Porter on his way out, the gardener reached out an arm to stop Aleron. "What are you planning to do next? I'd like to advise against any radical movements, including…" Porter's voice dropped even lower, "any threats towards the queen."
"Don't worry." Aleron replied crisply. "I have no plans to do anything of that nature." Porter heaved a sigh of relief. "But that does not mean I will allow my only son to stay in exile."
"Of course." Porter nodded his head. "Do whatever you're planning on doing. I trust you not to endanger the city just to bring your son home."
Aleron nodded his head and began to walk again. He paused at the doors and muttered to Porter. "Would it possible for you to watch the queen? I suspect that there's something off about her, but I haven't reached any conclusions yet."
"Off?" Porter's face twisted in concern. "I hope not…" He paused for a few moments, considered his words, and instantly changed his mind, "Actually, it might just be better to hope that something is wrong. Something that we can fix."
Aleron nodded his head in agreement before walking outside. He glanced up at the dusky sky of the Twilight Realm. Was his son okay out there?
--
"Cannonball!" Veiviser's cheerful yell startled Midna out of the contemplative silence that had taken over once they began their search for water. A second later, water splashed up from the pond Veiviser had jumped in, drenching Midna.
She glared testily at the water before smirking as she watched Veiviser drift to the surface, clutching his toe and hollering.
"That wasn't my best plan." Veiviser muttered after climbing out of the water. He rubbed the reddened foot that had hit the bottom of the pond in his jump.
"None of your plans are very smart." Midna retorted, causing the boy to momentarily send a scowl her way before returning to tending his foot.
Meanwhile, Midna walked over to the water's edge. She looked down at her reflection in the fairly clean water. Dirt caked her face and the front side of her body from where she had been lying on the forest floor. Her clothing, once perfectly clean, were tattered and caked in a similar layer of dirt.
A proper bath was out of the question at the moment when there were much more vital things to look after. Like Link, for example. As Midna began splashing water over her face (she had decided against scrubbing out all the dirt off her clothing though she would get in the water later), her mind turned to the blonde Hylian.
Is he okay? How much time has passed? She glanced up at the sky, but there was no sign as to how much time had passed. It could've been a few hours or it could've been a few days. What if he's dead? Midna paused in her cleaning, tears glimmering in her eyes. Shaking her head furiously, Midna rubbed at her eyes to rid herself of tears.
Veiviser watched Midna silently. Seeing her freeze up, the boy waited a few moments before asking, "Are you thinking about Link?"
Midna glanced over at him in surprise. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess." The boy shrugged. "If I was you, I would be thinking about him. Do you think he's okay?"
Midna glanced up at the sky again before looking back at Veiviser. "If the time limit isn't up, then I think he's perfectly okay. Well, as okay as anyone could be while in a prison cell with the Viduata Solis slowly killing him."
Veiviser didn't laugh, only went back to frowning. "If he's dead, what are you going to do?"
"Whatever the hell I feel like." Midna growled. She didn't want to think about what she would do if Link was dead. Not knowing if he was okay was killing her. Being reminded of the possibility that he was already a corpse was highly unpleasant.
"Don't take it out on Kamy. It might not be her fault." Veiviser said glumly. His hand began to trace a pattern in the dirt. "Do you think it's her fault?"
"I think there's a chance something cursed her."
Midna didn't say that she believed that the chance was marginally thin. How could someone creep into her bedroom while there were guards watching her? Then again, it could've gotten her before she had joined them at the castle. But that didn't make sense as to why Midna hadn't picked up any traces of a curse on Kamaria. Curses tended to give off bad waves and high magic users (Midna considered herself one) could pick up on them. Of course, it could always have been hidden away but Midna didn't know of any magic users powerful enough to do such a thing.
"We'll find a way to get rid of that curse, won't we?" Veiviser asked.
Simply out of pity for the boy, Midna nodded her head. "Of course. Nothing can stand up to me and win."
Veiviser grinned. "I'll pummel whoever's responsible to bits."
"Yeah." Midna added.
Midna finished up her washing. Dirt still clung to her clothes, but at least her face and skin was grime-free. Veiviser had washed up rather well, considering his previous countenance of snot and dirt.
"What way do you suppose Lunaris is?" Veiviser asked. He had never seen this place before, but he hoped that Midna had some sort of plan.
"I'm not sure, but I know how to find out."
"How?" The boy hadn't been expecting much, but he visibly perked up at hearing that Midna had a plan.
"It might not work." She cautioned upon seeing how excited the boy looked. "But I think it will. Give me your cloak."
Veiviser stared blankly at Midna. "Why?"
"Can you just hand it over? I don't want to waste time explaining." She snapped at him, prompting the boy to hastily unfasten the cloak and hand it over.
Midna gripped the cloak tightly in her hand. She closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. Veiviser's unmistakable orange signature covered the cloak and while it was faint, Midna thought it would do. She focused, searching for other places where his magical signature existed. Obviously the strongest location was right beside her, but she ignored this one and instead searched for even fainter signals.
Veiviser watched Midna quietly. He had recognized the look of concentration on her face from the last time she had used tracking magic, which left him utterly confused. Why was she trying to track him? Sure, his mother had made the cloak, but her magical signature would have been replaced by his. He chewed his lip nervously, hoping that Midna knew what she was doing.
"Alright, I've got the basic direction that we should head in." With that, Midna tossed the cloak to Veiviser and began walking west.
"Wait! How do you know Lunaris is that way?" Veiviser called out to Midna after refastening his cloak.
She smiled. "I used reverse tracking."
Veiviser stared back at her in confusion. He wasn't an expert in magic, but he had never heard of reverse tracking. Then again, he hadn't really had any clue on regular tracking before Midna either.
Midna sighed at his confusion. "It's not something they teach you. I was just wondering whether I could track stuff with your magical signature rather than track you. It worked though I don't have a direct fixation. We might end up missing Lunaris, or we might hit it straight-on."
"That's great! Well, the thing about us knowing the direction, not the missing the city thing." Veiviser cheered. "Everything will be great once we get back to Lunaris."
Midna nodded her head though she wasn't in complete agreement. If they arrived at Lunaris and Link was already dead… She pictured the Hylian as a cold corpse, devoid of the warmth and courage that she had grown to love. The princess shivered at the thought before stating,
"Let's hurry."
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The dungeon cell Link had been tossed in could be described with two words; damp and odorous. The air was dank and smelled of blood, excretory results, and grime. There were a few puddles of questionable liquids that Link was avoiding. There were no cots (Celestria was not very kind to its prisoners), just some hay. The bars of his cell were made of iron and while they looked old, Link had been unable to shake them loose. If it had not been for the red runes inscribed on the walls, the cell would've been in complete darkness.
The boy sat slumped against the back of the cell. His head turned to survey the room for the billionth time that day. Words that Link couldn't translate were scrawled on to the wall, the enigmatic writings of previous prisoners. There was a system of tally marks to his right, marking out the suspected days of a past prisoner. It had reached 30 of these marks before the prisoner died here or was carted off to his death.
The only conclusion Link had arrived upon from looking around was that this cell had no weak spots to allow criminals a chance to escape. There were no soft patches of dirt in the stony floor unlike the prison cell Link had once been put in. There were no vents; the only fresh air that got into here came from the door that occasionally opened to allow guards in.
Link sighed, which sent him into a short bout of coughing. It didn't exactly help his situation that he was ill. The boy's eyes closed as he thought about the skirmish in the throne room. If only he hadn't been sick… He could've broken out of their hold and used his sword to help Midna and Veiviser. They wouldn't be somewhere unknown if he had managed to do that.
"Hey Link." A voice called to him.
Link's eyes shot open. There was a green-haired Twili standing at the other side of the bars. While he had never met the Twili personally, Link recognized him from Midna and Vei's descriptions. It was Vaschel, still dressed in the armor he had donned for the coronation. He was holding a bowl of porridge, bread, and a jug of water.
Link watched him cautiously. The Hylian had heard good things about the soldier, but he wasn't sure where Vaschel's allegiance lay. Certainly he would side with the one who gave him his pay check, Kamaria in this case. Yet… Link wanted to believe that the soldier would side with justice over money.
Seeing as he wasn't getting any response, Vaschel grinned weakly at Link, "I bet I'm not the face you wanted to see."
It took Link a few moments to get what he was talking about, but a light blush fell across his face as he realized he was speaking about Midna.
"Do you know where they took her?" He asked.
Vaschel glanced towards the door he had come through. Seeing no one there, he leaned closer to the bars before shaking his head, "I'm sorry to say that I don't. I do know they were planning to dump her and Vei somewhere in the forest, but that's as far as my knowledge extends."
"Oh."
Link must've sounded disheartened because the next thing Vaschel did was smile piteously and say, "Don't worry about her. From everything I've heard about her, she'll be okay out there. She's probably planning to storm the castle as soon as she gets back to Lunaris."
A small smile graced Link's face as he thought about Midna. "Yeah, she would do that."
"Aleron is working to convince Kamaria that what she is doing is wrong." Vaschel added.
"He is!" Vaschel chuckled at Link's surprise.
"I know that he's a stickler for rules, but he's not happy to see his son forced into banishment. I doubt he'll do anything like attack her Highness, but he'll do his best to get her to revoke her decision."
"Is there anyone else who's working to help us?" Link asked.
"Porter is watching Kamaria for anything suspicious. We have some theories that something is controlling her." Link nodded his head. It sounded plausible after everything else that had happened. "Morgana and I are setting up a contact with you. We'll be coming in periodically to give you news of the development. It's her turn next." Vaschel chewed his lip in thought. "We've got Ramaine watching the field for any sign of Midna and Vei when she's not busy cooking. There are a few guards who told us they would keep an eye out for the two of them, but we're a small group."
"I guess not a lot of people would have the courage to challenge their queen." Link smiled. It wasn't a huge group, but he was glad to hear that there were people who would rebel for the sake of the trio.
"It's rather unfortunate, but I always liked small operations better." Vaschel slowly unlocked the cage. Link's eyes widened, causing Vaschel to chuckle sadly.
"I'm sorry, Link, but I can't let you out yet. Kamaria would know if we let you out and she'd have me hung. Sit still for now." Vaschel set the food down for the boy before closing the door and relocking it.
"I don't like doing nothing." Link sighed. He had figured that being freed was too good to be true. There were boundaries as to how far Vaschel could go to help him. But he supposed not even having the strength to escape was far worse than not being allowed out.
"No one likes being helpless." Vaschel said grimly. "We'll have you out soon." He added in a slightly more cheerful tone.
"Vaschel! What's taking so long, buddy?" The gruff voice of the usual jail guard called.
Vaschel smiled grimly at Link. "Well, I'll see you later. Don't die in here."
"I'll be waiting." Link answered back, thinking of how close to death he was. There was every possibility that the Viduata Solis would kill him any minute.
With that, Vaschel strode off, whistling a small ditty under his breath. Link watched him until the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall shut with a dull thud.
Link moved closer to the food. He didn't have much of an appetite though he wasn't sure whether it was from the Viduata Solis or from the helplessness that hung around him. Still, it was best to keep his energy up.
Midna… I hope you're fine out there.
--
"Run ahead."
There was a deep growling as the Messenger voiced his complaints to his dismounted rider.
"Please… Do this for me."
The growling came to a halt as the Messenger stopped to consider whether it was okay or not.
"You know they won't hurt me… Oh, don't give me that look. I'll meet you at the castle with them."
The Messenger stared stoutly at his rider, a whimper rising up from his throat.
A sigh. "I know you hate it when I leave you, but I'll be okay. Both of them could easily recognize you and I don't want them to know it's me. Does that make sense?"
The Messenger shook his head. To him, there was no sense in what his rider was saying.
"Look, it'll be far too confusing if they know it's me. I have to remain undercover until we get to Lunaris."
The Messenger stretched out a tentacle and pushed it against the black scrap of cloth that his rider held. He looked urgently up at his rider.
A thin smile. "They won't get me. I'm positive that their role in all this is over. And if it's not, you know I can handle them especially if I have their help. Now get going."
The Messenger took a few steps away from his rider before turning to beg once more for a change in mind.
Now frowning, his rider ordered, "No. I want you to go ahead. Now."
The stress on that last word convinced the Messenger that further arguing would be pointless. He patted his rider once with a tentacle before bounding off into the depths of the forest.
His rider watched him go with sad eyes. It wasn't that separating from the Messenger was enjoyable; it was simply a necessity for this to work. The Messenger's form had been lost among the tree trunks of the forest.
Magic enveloped the rider. There was a harsh glow and then the magic faded away, leaving a taller figure in place of the rider. The rider began to walk, the black rag drifted down to the ground as it was released.
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A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Lol, I'm having a lot of fun leaving cliffhangers and miniscule clues. You have no idea how hard it is to avoid using pronouns in sentences to avoid stating the gender of the rider (I didn't want to use the word 'it' either).
Now for some questions to contemplate until my next update: Who is this mysterious rider? Why would Kamaria ever want to banish the ones who helped her out? Is there really a curse? Am I always going to leave evil cliffhangers? Are computers ever going to turn on us? Find out all this and more next chapter (actually I lie, you probably won't find out most, if any, of those questions). Reviews are always nice. I'd love to hear what you think and whether or not you have any guesses as to who the rider is.
Twilight Phantom Dragon