Author's Notes: Yes, I finally updated! I'm sorry for not updating for so long. Between NaNoWriMo, school, going away on vacation, and writer's block, I haven't updated this for a really long time. And I'm really sorry for that. Please don't kill me. Now then, if you're not going to kill me, get ready for the longest chapter of Blood of the Moon (the longest chapter so far).
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.
----
"Times like these, dark times, they do funny things to people. They can tear them apart."
-- Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Chapter 15: The Mysterious Ally
"Can you… wait up… for me?" Veiviser panted out, deep breaths interrupting his words.
Midna stopped, irritation flickering on to her face. They had been walking for a few hours now with no signs of the city or any breaks in the heavy foliage. Her feet hurt and she wanted to go to sleep, but pure determination drove her onwards. A stop could end up being fatal to Link, if he wasn't already dead.
However, Veiviser's body didn't work quite the same way as Midna's. Well, either that or he lacked the same amount of determination that she possessed. Because he usually had Eclipse to ride on, he was unaccustomed to walking so far. His feet were killing him and he was breathing heavily. On top of all that, his pace was slackening now and Midna had to make frequent stops to allow the boy time to catch up.
"I'm going to die before we reach Lunaris." Veiviser exhaled slowly as he drew up to Midna. The boy put out a hand to rest against the tree.
"We have to go on." Midna began walking once more, leaving Vei to hastily push himself away from the tree and hurry after the princess.
"Can't we stop for a small break?"
"No." Midna answered coldly, still walking.
"Why not?" Veiviser whined, ears drooping.
"Because we need to get to Lunaris as soon as possible."
"We're no use to anyone dead." Veiviser muttered darkly. He came to a halt.
Midna chose to ignore the comment instead calling out to him, "Come on or I'll leave you behind."
Sourly, Veiviser shook his head and stayed rooted to his spot. Upon realizing that the boy had quit complaining and his footsteps had halted, Midna turned to stare at him. Perhaps glare would be a better word because her eyes had narrowed significantly.
"Why aren't you walking?" She hissed. An image of Link's pale corpse came to mind. "We have to get there as fast as possible."
"I'm tired." Veiviser said plainly. "And I'm going to rest. You can go on if you like, or you can rest with me."
"Vei, this is no time to be foolish. We can't take time to rest and you're never going to find your way through this forest without my help."
Veiviser's eyes narrowed. He rarely got angry, but a mixture of disappointment and fatigue had worn away his cheerful disposition. "And you would never have reached Lunaris in the first place without my help!" His proclamation caused Midna's eyes to widened, but she listened quietly as Veiviser began a rant.
"Even if I was desperate to return home and help my kingdom, I didn't insist that we travel without stops. In fact, I allowed you to call as many breaks as you like so Link wouldn't get tired! And now, when you're the one who's guiding me home to help Link, you're not allowing me rest at all!" Midna's lips tightened, but she made no attempts to deny it.
"You expect me to work like a pack animal! Like I don't have any limits to how much energy I have! Well, let me allow you in on a little secret, I'm only a mortal! I'm starving, my mouth is parched, my legs feel like they're going to fall apart, and I'm going to be a walking skeleton by the time we reach Lunaris! How is a dead person going to be of any use to Link?!" He shrieked before coming to a sudden halt.
Midna stood there numbly, her mind spinning rapidly. Peering closely at the trembling Veiviser, she could see the tears in his eyes and the clear exhaustion on his face. Immediately a wave of regret flooded over Midna.
And then they struck.
--
"Come in," Kamaria's authoritative voice called out, allowing Ramaine to enter the throne room.
It hadn't been the chef's idea to come in and talk to Kamaria. In fact, she would've preferred to stick around in her kitchen, cooking up some brilliant dinner and then sneaking away to scan the fields for any signs of Midna and Veiviser. However, fate was not on Ramaine's side when she was summoned to Kamaria's throne room.
"You wanted to see me." Ramaine's voice was not at all humble despite her attempts to make it so. In fact, it sounded rather impudent, clearly showing her distaste. Hastily to hide the tone, she added, "Your Majesty."
"Yes." Kamaria's voice indicated that Ramaine's tone had not gone unnoticed. "I've heard that you leave your station frequently to look out on the fields. I would like to know why."
Surprise appeared on Ramaine's face. She had been so careful in staying undercover, but it seemed as if someone had caught wind of it. Ramaine silently cursed whoever had ratted her out, wishing a long life full of suffering upon them, before turning her attention to the matter at hand.
Denying it wasn't the smartest idea, for Kamaria was unlikely to believe it. Begging for forgiveness was another option, but Ramaine was not willing to lower herself to such a cowardly thing. There was always lying about her motives and it was this option that Ramaine stuck with.
"Being stuck in that hot kitchen for a long time brings on a huge headache. I just like going out to get some fresh air and the air is best along the walls." At least that part wasn't a lie. Perhaps the gardens had fresh air, but the rest of the city's air could not compete with the freshness of the air up on the city walls. "It's quite refreshing." Ramaine forced a smile on to her face.
Kamaria's eyes narrowed. "I see." Ramaine doubted that, but at least the queen didn't call for a guard to grab Ramaine.
"If that's all, I guess I'll be going." Ramaine turned around quickly and began to walk towards the door. Only a few more steps to go and she would be free…
"Wait." Ramaine halted, quietly cursing Kamaria. "I wanted to ask you a question."
Ramaine turned around and nodded her head to motion Kamaria's continuation.
"Has there been any… strange talk?"
Ramaine felt herself shiver, but true to her character, she replied in a strong voice, "I don't believe so. What type of talk would you mean?" As a second thought, she added, "Your Majesty."
"Oh, just any talk that would be harmful towards the city."
Ramaine knew exactly what Kamaria was asking. Was anyone planning rebellion? Was anyone trying to go against Kamaria's orders for Link's imprisonment and the banishment of Midna and Veiviser? Of course, she couldn't tell the truth to the queen, so instead she played the innocent card.
"I haven't heard anything, but I'll make sure to report anything strange if I do hear it."
"I'm sure you will." The opposite was implied by Kamaria's words. "Now run along."
Ramaine hurried out of the chamber, breathing out a deep sigh of relief as she exited. Oh yes, Kamaria was most definitely suspicious of the group's motives. It was possible that she would call the others in to question them about it. With that thought in mind, Ramaine decided that she would warn the others, just so they could prepare a response to Kamaria's questions if they were indeed called.
--
There were 7 of them. Each of them was covered completely in black, resembling the assassins who had attacked them out on the field a few days ago. Every single one of them held a wicked cutlass as they charged at the duo.
Midna was fast to react, having grown used to fighting from her adventures. Magic quickly formed in her hands and she was able to surround one of the assassins in it. The assassin let out a horrible howl as his flesh smoldered away, leaving little else but bones.
She was forced to summon up her sword to block a horizontal slash from one of the other assassins. She just barely defended herself before another one of the assassins moved in to stab at her side. Midna twisted away, avoiding most of the blade though part of it left a nick in her side.
"Now is so not the time for this." Midna scowled at them, swiping her blade at the assassin's neck, only to miss and hit his shoulder instead. He dropped his weapon in his pain and she stabbed him in the chest at that brief lapse in his defense.
Midna quickly whirled around, catching the cutlass of the assassin who had originally attacked her. The two remained in a tight deadlock for several seconds, each one attempting to push the other back.
Meanwhile, Veiviser was busy handling three of the assassins. They had surrounded him and while he had summoned up his trusty club, he was finding it hard to block all the blows. He was forced to keep on turning around to hit the cutlasses away from himself with no time to mount his own attack. Fortunately, his club was much heavier than the cutlasses, so a direct hit from it would stun them for a few seconds while Veiviser moved on to block another one of the cutlasses.
This was getting rather old, so when Veiviser turned around to one assassin, expecting them to launch an attack, the attack never came. For a second, Veiviser blinked, confused as to why the pattern had been broken like this.
This bought the time for one of the assassins who had just recovered from Veiviser's earlier hit to stab towards Veiviser's exposed arm. Pain shot through Veiviser as the cutlass sliced into his muscle, causing him to drop his club. The other two assassins got ready to lunge at the momentarily disabled Twili boy.
But the fatal moves never came, for two balls of magic had come out of the forest and hit two of the assassins soundly in the chests. The duo screamed in pain before falling over. Veiviser had enough time to duck away from the assassin who had stabbed his arm and grab his club. He twisted around to hit the assassin in the shin, causing him to fall over in pain.
"Thanks Midna, I really needed…" Veiviser's voice trailed off as he noticed that Midna was still grappling with two of the assassins. She was much too busy watching herself to have helped him. But then who had…
Veiviser received his answer when a figure dressed in dark gray robes complete with hood appeared from the forest. He didn't know who this figure was, but it had helped them and Veiviser welcomed the ally. After all that walking, Veiviser wasn't sure he would be of much more help in the battle so an ally was the best thing that could happen to them. Questions on who this ally was were held off for later.
The figure released more magic that brought about the death of the assassin Veiviser had hit in the leg. It, Veiviser was going to refer to it as it until he was certain of the gender, turned around and proceeded to shoot a bolt of magic at one of the assassins Midna was fighting.
It provided enough time for Midna to stab the assassin through the chest before facing her final opponent. Thinking of Link filled Midna with determination and anger. This assassin was just wasting her time! It was keeping her from walking (or at least resting since Veiviser was so adamant on the idea). It was keeping her from helping Link.
The teal runes on the Twi Blade shone brightly, enveloping the sword in a magical aura. With a battle roar, Midna slashed the sword diagonally, hewing through the assassin's flesh and bones as if they were butter. The two parts of the assassin fell to the ground, filling the air with the heavy scent of blood and guts.
"Ewww, did you really have to slice right through him?" Midna turned around to look at Veiviser who had wrinkled his nose at the mess Midna had created.
The teal glow around the Twi Blade faded, leaving just the regular runes. Midna had been staring at the blade in marvel, wondering what kind of power had just sprung from it, but Veiviser's comment brought her back to the rest of reality.
Looking at the messy corpse, Midna shook her head. "Probably not." She admitted. The sudden fury at the assassin had gone with the power that had filled the Twi Blade. She closed her eyes and muttered, "It was strange. I just couldn't control it."
"Yeah well next time, try a simple stab through the heart. Even decapitation is better. Then at least the guts aren't dripping out." Midna didn't bother to retort, still thinking about what had happened.
Veiviser, on the other hand, was thinking of their ally. He turned his head to look for it and to his delight, he saw the robed figure still standing close by. Waving his hand at the figure, he yelled, "Thanks for the help. Why don't you come over here and we can share in the battle spoils?"
"What spoils? We didn't win anything." Midna muttered before turning her attention towards the figure Veiviser had spoken to. The mysteries of the Twi Blade and its power would have to wait for later, she decided as she stored the sword away.
The figure took a few tentative steps towards them before deciding that they definitely weren't going to attack and walked closer. While most of the figure's features were hidden by the gray cloak, it was clear that it was male.
Veiviser grinned at the figure before gesturing at Midna. "This is Midna, the demanding but awesome princess of the Twilight Realm. And I'm Veiviser, also known as Vei the Magnificent and Greatest Twili Ever." Midna rolled her eyes, but refrained from saying anything. "And who might you be?"
"I am Araimak." His voice was level, with a pitch that was neither high nor low, but rather in the middle.
"Araimak?" Veiviser stumbled over the name. "Can I just call you Arai?" Araimak nodded his head to indicate that he was okay with it.
"And what were you doing out here in the forest, Araimak?" Midna was watching the male Twili with suspicion.
When Araimak met her suspicious gaze evenly, Midna noticed that the Twili had deep purple irises. It was an uncommon eye color, but Midna brushed it off. Happening to gain an ally in the middle of nowhere just when they were attacked by seven assassins was more suspicious than that ally having a rare eye color.
"I'm on my way to Lunaris. I have business there. When I heard the sounds of battle, I followed it and found you two fighting with them." He pointed down at the bodies on the ground.
"And what business do you have in Lunaris?" Midna's voice was still suspicious.
A small smile appeared on Araimak's face. "Just business."
Before Midna could question him more, Veiviser butt in. "We're going to Lunaris too! Maybe we can go as a group."
Midna was about to tell Veiviser that hauling a stranger with them wasn't the smartest idea, but Araimak cut in. "That would be a good idea. We can keep each other safe and I've got a map that'll provide help."
Veiviser's eyes brightened even more. Even Midna was pleased to hear about the map though she was still unsure about their 'ally'. "A map? That's great! We know the general direction because Midna used some magic to find it, but we're not confident that we'll hit the city exactly. We may miss it by who knows how many miles."
"Well then we can help each other. That is, if you two will allow me to travel with you?"
"Of course!" Veiviser nodded his head in agreement, only to have his uninjured arm grabbed by Midna.
She hissed into his ear, "We don't know anything about him and you want to bring him along with us?"
Veiviser shrugged and whispered back, "He has a map. He helped us and he can help us more. And if he really does turn out to be our enemy, it's two against one. We can handle him."
Midna scowled at Veiviser, but could find no argument to combat his. It was true that they needed a more reliable way of finding their way to Lunaris. And if he really was an enemy, they could handle him.
"Fine, you're with us now." Midna grumbled. "Now let's get going."
"What about my break?" Veiviser whined. "I have an injury to tend."
Midna had to admit that the stinging scratch to her side wasn't going to make travel easy or fun. Maybe a short break was the best thing they could do. Especially since Veiviser was so worn out and even Midna had to admit fatigue.
"Fine…" She glanced over at Araimak. "You don't mind taking a break, do you?"
"Not at all. In fact, I'll go and gather some food to eat while the two of you patch yourselves up and rest."
"That would be awesome!" Veiviser grinned. "Now let's find a place away from these corpses to rest."
The trio marched off before settling several yards away from the decaying bodies. Araimak left the two to gather food, leaving Midna to treat her wound with some nearby herbs and then bind it with a torn scrap of her skirt. Veiviser waited for her to finish her own treatment before requesting that she bind his arm as well. As she rubbed the poultice on his arm, Midna asked Veiviser,
"What do you suppose Araimak is doing in Lunaris?"
"Who knows?" Veiviser shrugged. "Arai seems friendly to me, so I don't see why we need to be all suspicious about him."
"He could be acting." Midna pointed out, but Veiviser shook his head.
"I don't think so. I get an honest vibe off him."
Midna didn't point out that he had been deceived by others before. Kamaria, for example, had been far from the friend Veiviser had believed her to be. However, she didn't want to remind him of the fact lest he burst into a large sobbing session.
"Trust him if you want, but don't forget to be cautious."
"You have enough of that for the both of us." Veiviser grinned; causing Midna to tightly pull at the bandage she was wrapping around Veiviser's wound. "Oww, what was that for?"
Midna ignored the question as she tied the bandage up. "There, now get some sleep. We're only resting for an hour."
"Very well, Your Majesty." Midna smacked Veiviser's head for the title, causing the boy to groan in pain. He then laid down and promptly fell asleep.
Midna waited until Araimak returned to the camp carrying fruit in his arms. The Twilight Princess noted that the fruit were familiar, meaning that she could eat them without pondering the possibility of them being inedible. She quietly took one from him and began eating in silence. Araimak seemed to have no problems with the silence, but once she was done with the meal, he said,
"You should get some sleep."
Midna didn't like the idea of falling asleep with only this stranger to watch over them, but she had to admit that sleep sounded very appealing at the moment. "I suppose a little sleep would be good." It didn't take long for the princess to fall asleep, leaving the red-haired Twili known as Araimak to watch over them.
Araimak glanced between Veiviser and Midna before fastening his eyes on Veiviser. He sighed heavily and muttered, "I'm sorry for not telling the truth."
--
Ever since the death of her husband, Livia had been on edge. At first, she had wanted to break down and mourn the death of her husband, but she couldn't do that for two reasons. One was that whatever had killed Orson was still out there, meaning she wasn't safe. And the second reason was that until this was all over, she had to be strong for Lita. The little girl had cried a lot and while Livia cried when her daughter was asleep, she maintained a composed expression when Lita was awake.
Staying in Honap had been out of the question, so Livia had immediately began on a journey towards the one safe place she could think of. Going was slow because the family owned no Twilight Messenger and Lita needed plenty of breaks, but eventually Livia's light red eyes caught the sight of gray walls marked with red runes.
"Come on Lita, it's only a little further." Livia nudged the small girl along.
Lita looked up from the ground she had been staring at, her eyes brightening at the sight of the city walls. While she felt some fear from being so close to such a large city when she had never left Honap before, she was excited as well. "Will Aysel be there?"
"Of course she will." Livia smiled down at her daughter, taking her hand. "But she'll be going by Kamaria now."
Lita frowned. Kamaria wasn't her sister; Aysel was. The thought that she would have to refer to her sister by any other name did not sit well with the little girl. Still, at least she would see her adopted sister again. When Aysel had disappeared from the house, Lita had feared she would never see the girl again. However, now she would see her again and perhaps be able to convince Aysel to return home.
Their journey through the city was a quick one despite the fact that Lita kept stopping to stare in wonder at the overbearing buildings and bustling streets of Lunaris. Honap's streets had never been this busy and the buildings were all small. On the other hand, Livia was more calm, having seen these things before settling in Honap.
Finally they reached the gates of the magnificent palace in Lunaris. It took some convincing, but the guard eventually raised the gates for them and directed them to the throne room. By this time, Lita was practically skipping along with her mother holding her hand.
The guard who had accompanied to the throne room paused at the doors. "Wait here." He cracked the door open and slipped inside. Mother and daughter waited for a few moments before the doors finally opened and the guard presented with a flourish, "Her Highness will see you now."
Lita's nose wrinkled at the title. Would her own sister want her to call her Your Majesty or Queen Kamaria or whatever other strange titles monarchs used? If so, Lita would throw her sister a good punch in the head to knock some sense back into her. Well, if she could reach her head… She might have to settle with punching her stomach.
Kamaria sat on the throne, her purple eyes looking down at Livia and Lita. When Lita saw her, despite the fact that Kamaria was dressed up in splendid robes and had a crown on her head, the small girl let out a squeal of delight and charged across the red carpet to give Kamaria a huge hug.
"Aysel! Aysel!" Lita was stopped by two guards who had stepped in front of Kamaria. Confused, Lita wrinkled her face and stared up at Kamaria. "Aysel, make them go away." Directed at the guards, she said, "Go away!"
Livia sighed and hurried after Lita. She grabbed the small girl and dragged her away from the menacing guards. "Lita, that's not how you speak to royal guards." She whispered. Goddesses, if this continued on, Lita could end up dead.
"But they're in my way." Lita pouted, crossing her arms.
"They're probably just afraid that you might be trying to kill Kamaria. You know that they have to be very protective of their queen."
"But I'd never kill my sister."
"Yes, well they don't know that, do they?" Livia's words made sense, even to Lita though she didn't want them to. She wanted to be able to charge at Kamaria and give her a huge hug without being interrupted by guards. In the old days, she had been able to do it.
"I guess…" Lita looked back at the guards. "I don't have any weapons, I promise."
They exchanged glances, but didn't move from their position. It was clear that until their queen called them off, they would stay there. If only Lita had known that Kamaria had told them to prevent anyone to come close to her… Then perhaps she would be feeling less resentment towards the guards.
Kamaria waved her hand dismissively at the guards. "You can leave. I'd like to talk to my family alone."
A large grin broke out across Lita's face at the 'my family' and even Livia smiled. It seemed that even if she was a queen now, she was still willing to talk to them and call them her family.
The two guards left the room. Kamaria rose her hand to indicate that the duo stay still, but if it hadn't been for Livia quickly grabbing her daughter's arm, Lita would've crossed the distance between herself and her sister. As it was, she was left trying to escape her mother's grip while Kamaria watched with an unreadable expression on her face.
"It's wonderful to see that you made it here." Livia smiled kindly at Kamaria. "And that you were able to be crowned. How is the city doing? Everything being returned to normal?"
"Yes." There was something about Kamaria's smile that unsettled Livia, but she made no remarks on it.
"Why can't I hug you?" Lita shouted, interrupting the conversation.
"Hugs can wait for later. I want to know—"
What Kamaria wanted to know would never be discovered because tears had started dripping down Lita's face. She sobbed loudly, "But Aysel! You're my sister! Haven't you missed me?"
"Business comes first." There was an unpleasant note in her voice, a note that only those who really knew her would catch. Livia and Lita both caught it and Lita's sobbing intensified as a result.
"What happened to the sister I loved? Now you're just a big meanie."
"Lita, sweetie…" Livia hugged her sobbing daughter to her, patting her head comfortingly.
Lita struggled in her mother's grasp and managed to twist away. She ran up the stairs to Kamaria's throne and lunged towards her sister. Small arms wrapped around Kamaria's legs and the sobbing 7 year-old pushed her face into Kamaria's robes.
"Why can't you be nice, Aysel? I'll even call you Kamaria if you go back to being nice." Lita choked over the words, still crying heavily. "I just want a sister who loves me."
Kamaria watched this all with a nearly expressionless face, only some disgust flickering across her features as a mixture of tears and snot stained her robes. Livia watched as Kamaria's eyes began to glow purple. She might not have known that much about magic, but Livia did not like where this was going. She yelled,
"Lita! Lita!"
The little girl removed her face to stare back at her mother's scared face. She was confused. Why was her mother calling to her like this? Why was she acting as if something horrible would happen? There wasn't anyone here other than the three of them and which one of them would actually hurt her.
That's when scarlet magic wrapped around Lita's torso. The little girl screamed before realizing that while the magic stung her slightly, it didn't actually cause her any real pain. Lita blinked a few times before looking down. She was suspended several feet above the throne room by a supple rope of magic.
Livia was shrieking at Kamaria. "What do you think you're doing?! Put her down right now."
A smirk appeared on Kamaria's face. "I can, but I'm not going to."
"You're not Aysel! The real Aysel would never do this to me!" Lita cried from where she was suspended. Truthfully, Lita was more than frightened. She was terrified out of her mind. The thought that her dear sister had changed into someone who didn't care if others got hurt bothered her greatly.
"I am Kamaria and that is it." The queen growled, causing more tears to fall from Lita's eyes.
"Put her down, Kamaria. Please." Livia begged. She didn't think that Kamaria would actually kill Lita, but the possibility of it lurked in the depths of her mind. Losing Lita only a few days after losing Orson would kill Livia.
Kamaria seemed to consider this for a few moments before agreeing, "Very well." Slowly the magic tendril lowered Lita to the floor. Once she was released, Lita ran into her mother's embrace.
"Guards, show them to a room." Kamaria commanded.
"One of the special ones?" Special ones? The idea of a special room did not sound very attractive when said in such a voice.
Kamaria pursed her lips before nodding her head. "Yes, one of the special ones."
"Wait, what's a special one?" Lita shouted, but she received no answers.
The guards who had come to lead them towards the room whispered softly to them, "Just go quietly. We don't want to have to force you."
So quietly they went, Lita casting a final glance back at her sister. No, Kamaria was her sister no longer. This thing on the throne was not the caring Aysel who had played with Lita. It was something else.
----
A/N: So… Who is this mysterious Araimak? Is he who he says he is or is he someone else? What exactly is a "special room"? What is wrong with Kamaria? Who are the assassins and who do they work for? When will you learn all the answers? Well, I can tell you the answer to the last one. You probably won't learn all of them next chapter, but I can guarantee you that you'll learn at least one of the answers. Until next time,
Twilight Phantom Dragon