Author's Notes: Another update before I'm back in school! I'm sorry to say that I probably won't update soon after this because I've got basketball practice along with a lot of homework to work with now. Still, I'll be typing it up bit by bit to eventually get the next chapter up. Until then, thank you for your reviews and enjoy the latest installment of Blood of the Moon!

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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"Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover."
-- Anonymous

Chapter 16: It's Easy, Too Easy

Shortly after the two had woken up (Veiviser had only come to after some prodding from Midna), their long walk to Lunaris continued. For now, they relied on Midna's compass-like directions though Araimak's map was held at the ready for when they got closer to distinguishing landmarks around the city.

The walk was a silent one except for the crunching of twigs, the whistling of the wind in the branches above, and the screeches of the Kangarocs flying overhead. They were each lost in their own thoughts; Veiviser was wondering what had happened to Kamaria, Midna's thoughts were on Link, and Araimak's… Well, let's keep those a secret for now.

Finally Veiviser asked the classic and often annoying question that had begun to bug him a while back, "How much longer do we have to walk?"

Midna glanced at Veiviser before looking at Araimak who simply shrugged and replied, "We've got to keep walking until we hit the stream. I'm not sure when that'll be."

Veiviser sighed loudly. He was tired of walking especially since there was such a complete silence hanging over them. Talking might help him, if not with his fatigue, then it would at least entertain him. "So… Does anyone have any plans as to how we're going to get to the palace without guards alerting Kamy? And what we're going to do once we get there?"

Midna pursed her lips. "We'll use magic to bust in. And once we're facing Kamaria, we'll try diplomacy. If that doesn't work, we'll go straight into forcing her to free Link and send him back."

Veiviser frowned. "I don't want to hurt her."

Midna rolled her eyes. "It's not like you can do much with your injured arm. I'll do the dirty work, you can handle the diplomacy."

"Just don't rough her up too badly." To Veiviser, she was still his good friend… Well, at least he hoped the parts that had been his good friend were still inside. Maybe she was already regretting the decision to banish them. Veiviser had heard that girls got rather prickly every once and a while upon reaching a certain age. Maybe she had reached that age and that had resulted in her overreacting to something like a rumor. Yeah, that made sense.

"I'll do whatever I need to do." Unlike Veiviser, Midna wasn't making any excuses towards Kamaria's behavior.

"What about you, Arai?"

Araimak blinked, startled out of his own thoughts on the subject. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to come and help us talk some sense into Kamy?" When Araimak didn't answer, Veiviser guessed that perhaps the mysterious Twili didn't know about the new queen of Celestria yet. So he quickly informed Araimak, "Kamy, or Kamaria as most people call her, is our new queen. She's only 12 like me and she's been my friend for a long time… Except she's been acting a bit strange lately." Veiviser had been smiling as he spoke adoringly of Kamaria, but the smile dropped when he thought about her recent actions.

At the end, he repeated his question, "So, do you want to help us with Kamy?"

"We'll see about that." It wasn't a satisfactory answer and Veiviser was about to argue it when Araimak kept on speaking, "Have you considered that she might not be…herself?"

"Of course she's not herself." Veiviser chuckled. "The regular Kamy would never banish her friend."

Midna added, "If you mean that she might be under a curse, we have considered the option. Why, do you think so?" Midna didn't know this stranger's past, but she had a feeling he knew a lot more than he was letting on. The question was why was he withholding that information. Had he known Kamaria?

"Well, it just crossed my mind as a possibility." Araimak shrugged and turned away.

Midna's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you happen to know anything about this?"

Araimak shook his head slightly, his red hair falling to obscure his face under its hood. He moved it away with his hand, showing the red markings that ran in the typical Twili rune designs.

Midna watched all this carefully before remarking, "You know there aren't many Twili with red markings like yours." Maybe it was her imagination, but it appeared as if his shoulders had momentarily stiffened. "Purple eyes aren't that common either."

Veiviser blinked in surprise. Why is Midna questioning him like this? …But she has a point. It's not very common for Twili to have red markings unless they dapple in dark magic. Arai doesn't look like he uses dark magic… Right? Dark magic doesn't explain his eye color either.

The boy looked hard at Araimak, trying to see if there was any hint of maliciousness on the Twili. Yes, he had robes like some evil warlocks, but his dark gray robes looked more like someone trying to avoid detection… Did that mean he was evil? His face was almost always hidden by the shadow of his cloak, but his purple eyes could still be seen, shining brightly. They weren't shining with malice. At least Vei didn't think so.

"I was born with it." Araimak said in a rather stiff voice.

He wasn't lying, that much Midna was certain of. But she also knew that he wasn't telling the whole story. "Who are you, really?"

Araimak smiled slightly. "I am who I am."

Midna resisted the urge to wring his neck for the riddle. "Yes, and who exactly is that? What are you doing going into Lunaris at this time?" More questions nearly rolled off Midna's tongue, but she kept them in.

Veiviser sighed, "Midna… Can't you just trust him as our friend for now?" It wasn't that Veiviser wasn't curious; he was very interested in Araimak's secrets, but he didn't want to doubt Araimak's friendship.

"Everyone has their secrets, Princess." Midna glowered at him, but Araimak continued. "I ask that you quit your questions and be satisfied with knowing that I am on your side." His eyes slid over to look at Veiviser. "And that means you too, Vei."

"Hey, I wasn't asking questions!"

Midna scowled. "Fine, but first sign that you're doing something shifty and you're going to wish you had spilled your guts to me."

Araimak flinched slightly. "Let's just continue walking."

--

The sounds of footsteps woke Link up from the nap he had taken to conserve his energy. Cautiously, the boy opened one eye to watch the door. It had only been a few hours since Vaschel had visited, so Link couldn't see why the Twili or his sister would be coming in anytime soon. And if it wasn't them, it could be Kamaria to see Link put to death.

It turned out to be neither of them, just some guards of no specific interest to Link. However, the people they were leading definitely evoked interest in Link.

More prisoners… Who could they be? He wondered if they had found out that Vaschel was trying to help him. Or any of the others? Was it one of them? Link wanted to remain lying down, so the guards would be deceived as to just how much energy he had left but he also wanted to be able to see the prisoners. Was it Midna and Veiviser? Link shivered, thinking of the duo being locked away in a cell similar to his. Midna… In a dirty cell like this. The thought was an unpleasant one.

In the end, his worry came to nothing as he caught the sight of blonde hair. At first Link was confused as it wasn't a very common hair color among the Twili before recognizing the small figure. Lita! What's she doing here? She didn't seriously try to follow Kamaria to try and convince her to come home, did she?

Lita was holding someone's hand. Someone with teal runes and orange hair streaked with very light orange that was tied up into a bun. Link recognized her as Livia after a few moments of examining her out of the corners of his eyes.

But what were they doing here? Even if the two had come here to talk to Kamaria, she wouldn't have thrown them in the dungeon, would she? It was true that she had thrown Veiviser into the forest despite their friendship. Link frowned as he tried working it out. So either she was crazy or she wasn't acting on her own. Both options were grim, but Link much preferred the latter.

"Mommy, why are we here?" Lita's voice, even at a whisper, seemed quite loud. He could see her grip tightening on her mother's arm as she took in the dungeon's sights and smells.

Link didn't hear Livia's response, her whisper was actually quiet unlike Lita's, but he could see that she was trying to comfort her teary daughter. The guards looked on with some guilt written on their otherwise stoic faces. Even they didn't like throwing a small child and her mother into a cell.

"Here we go, two separate cells." One of the guards, Link guessed he was the leader of the small troupe, gestured at two cells across from Link's.

Lita let out a wail and clutched her mother's arm tighter. "Nooooo! I can't leave my Mommy." She glared at the guards, challenging them to tear the two apart. Livia's arms wrapped around Lita.

"Can't you understand that a mother and her child need to be together?" Link watched in admiration. Taking a stand against armed guards who probably had orders to rough her up if they needed to was a brave thing to do.

The guards sent each other nervous glances. They didn't know what to do. It was simple enough to just tear them away from each other, but the guards weren't completely inhumane. They didn't like imprisoning citizens of Celestria who had done nothing wrong especially since those citizens were a little girl and her mother. Causing them even more despair by keeping them in separate cells made it worse.

"Maybe we can just let them be together. They'll still be down here out of the way like Her Majesty wanted them to be." One of the guards finally spoke up, his words clearly addressed to the group leader. "And it's not like she'll come down to check on them anyway."

Slowly the leader nodded his head before turning to look at Lita and Livia. "Now you two just go into that one quietly and we won't have to separate the two of you. You got that?"

Lita looked like she was going to complain about it, but her mother placed a hand over her mouth before she had the chance. Livia smiled kindly at the guards and murmured, "Thank you so much."

Livia led Lita into the cell and the door closed behind them. On their way out, the guard who had spoken on their behalf glanced back at Link. Quickly the Hylian shut his eyes. "I would've expected more of a challenge from the Hero." He murmured loudly enough for the others to hear.

One of his companions clapped the guard's arm and replied loudly, "Yeah well, expectations just lead to disappointment."

A frown appeared on Link's face. He didn't like the way they talked about him even if they were right. He wasn't fighting, at least visibly. He wasn't doing anything, but lying around in this cell and storing up energy to prolong the Viduata Solis as much as possible. So far he figured he had done an okay job at it.

Once the door closed with a thud and a few minutes of silence had gone by, Lita's voice called out to Link. "Is it really you, High-lee-in boy?" A brief smile appeared on Link's face as he recalled his first meeting with Lita before it disappeared under the weight of their setting.

"Yeah, it's me." He edged to the back of the cell and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Finally he got his first good look at Lita and Livia. They looked similar to how they had looked the last time Link had saw them except they appeared skinnier, dirt from travel caked their skin, and tears streaked Lita's face. At least she looked happy to see him unlike last time when she had told him and his friends to go away and leave her sister alone.

"What are you in here for?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Link replied before adding, "Kamaria just decided to throw me into here."

Lita ignored his implied question, instead asking another, "And what about your friends?"

Link frowned. "They're in the forest. Somewhere." He supposed that it was better that they were free, but he didn't like the thought of them lost somewhere in the woods.

"Oh…"

"Why are you here?" Link asked, seeing as it looked like neither of them was going to talk about it without some prodding.

"We came here to visit Aysel!" Lita exclaimed happily before frowning, "And well… Because Daddy told us to run."

Link was about to ask run from what, but Livia slightly shook her head. A questioning expression took over Link and Livia mouthed, "Later." This greatly intrigued Link, but he didn't ask anything else. It was clear that whatever this was about was a bad subject.

To get away from the topic of Orson, Link asked, "I meant why are you stuck in the dungeon like me."

Lita frowned, her eyes getting watery again. It seemed as if this was another bad subject. "Well, we came here to visit Aysel, but we didn't find my sister. We found a monster that took the form of her body."

"Oh Lita…" Livia spoke gently, draping an arm around her teary daughter. "Don't say such things."

"But it's true." Lita crossed her arms.

"Why, what happened?"

Quickly Livia related the scene that had played out upstairs. First banishing her friend (and Midna), then imprisoning the people she hadn't wanted to leave behind in Honap. Link's brow furrowed as he pondered over the enigma. It just didn't make any sense.

Seeing Link's face, Lita muttered, "See, I told you she was a monster now."

Link couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Something's definitely up."

"We have to get out of here!" Lita decided. She looked at Link. "You're the Hero, right? Well, can't you escape?"

"I dug my way out of the last cell I was in. But their maintenance was far poorer." He didn't add that the only way he had managed to dig his way out was because he was a wolf. "There aren't any spots in this cell that aren't made of stone."

"And you don't have any of your stuff to work with either, do you?" Link shook his head, causing Lita to sigh unhappily. "Then we're stuck here forever."

Livia patted her daughter's back. "Don't say that. We'll get out eventually whether we escape or Kamaria realizes that what she's doing is wrong."

"She should know better." Lita remarked.

"Yes well, things aren't how they're supposed to be." Link thought Livia sounded rather grim, causing him to once again wonder why she couldn't speak about Orson right now.

--

Eventually the trio had come across the stream their map marked. They had followed it for a while before splitting away from it and walking through more forest. And then, to great relief, they reached the plain that Lunaris was situated on. The city, up on its hill, could easily be seen from where they stood in the forest's fringe. It was this sighting that brought up the energy levels of the group.

Veiviser laughed. "We'll get this sorted out really quick now!" He began to whistle a cheerful ditty as they walked.

The dread of potentially finding Link's corpse in the city pushed at Midna, but above that was a level of extreme determination. If Link was still alive, she couldn't turn away because she was afraid of what she might find. She had to keep going; partly to save Link if he was still breathing and partly to sort out this whole mess of being exiled for no good reason.

"Will the guards let you in?" Araimak asked.

"If not, we'll force our way in. Right, Middy?" Midna glared at Veiviser, but the boy seemed immune to it as he went back to whistling.

Midna sighed before glancing at Araimak. "Have you decided what you're doing yet? You don't need us anymore, so if you want easy entrance into the city, go on ahead of us."

"But it'd be better if you stayed, Arai." Veiviser added.

Araimak glanced at the two before fixing his eyes on the city. On one hand, he wanted to stay with them to make sure they got to the castle. On the other hand, he had to fetch something first and only then could he go to the castle to help them. Momentarily he shut his eyes before opening them again. "As much as I'd like to stay, I have something I have to look into first. You'll be alright on your own."

Veiviser's face fell. "But I really thought you were going to help us out with Kamy…" Clear disappointment was evident in Vei. Midna was mildly shocked that Araimak had chosen to split away, but she couldn't blame him. Even if he hadn't had business, sneaking in with two fugitives would've been tough.

Araimak offered a small smile. "I'll come to the castle once I get what I need. I promise."

Veiviser watched him carefully before holding up his pinky finger. "Swear?" There was no hesitation as Araimak grabbed Veiviser's pinky with his own and shook on it. Midna thought it looked rather ridiculous, a grown man and a boy (a very tall boy, but still a boy) pinky-swearing.

He pulled away and nodded his head in farewell. "I'll see you later." With that, he split away from them and began his own route towards the city.

"Bye Arai," Veiviser waved and Midna murmured, "Good-bye Araimak."

With Araimak no longer their companion, Midna and Veiviser resumed their walk towards the city.

"Araimak will be there, won't he?" Veiviser's face certainly looked uncertain. Sometimes Midna forgot that he could be insecure about things, but moments like this made her remember that he was still quite young and needed reassurance.

"You're the one who pinky-swore with him, weren't you?" Midna asked teasingly.

"Yeah…" Veiviser glanced at the ground. "Do pinky-swears still hold as important contracts to older people?"

"No." Midna admitted, causing Veiviser's face to drop. "But who knows? Araimak's odd. Maybe he'll honor it. And aren't I supposed to be the one doubting our ally?"

Veiviser chuckled. "I know, but sometimes…" He shrugged. "I just wonder."

With that sentence, they resumed silence. The city's walls were growing quite large now and Midna had to crane her head back to see which guards were on duty. Maybe they would let them in, depending on who it was and how intent they were on following orders.

The two guards were unfamiliar to Midna, which made her heart drop. However, seeing that the younger one was holding a bottle and the older one was chewing on a grass shoot revived her spirits. Perhaps they would be easy to fool.

Watching them from above, the older one chewing his grass shoot nudged his partner's side. "Look, what we have down der. "

Swallowing another mouthful of liquid, the younger one peered over the edge of the wall. In a loud voice, he answered, "Well if it ain't the banished princess and the kid. I never thought I'd see dem again, Ratch. Should we let dem pass?"

Yes, it was Ratch and Drave who were on duty. They were no longer playing card games like they had been before Kamaria's arrival, but they weren't quite as serious about the work as other guards would've been. Mostly they just held long conversations with one another and indulged in their personal habits while watching any newcomers for signs of suspicion and investigating any carts that were going into the city.

"Idiot, we'd be hung if the queen knew we was letting dem in." Ratch hit Drave's head. "Let's go." He jumped down from the wall, followed by Drave.

Midna tensed and muttered to Veiviser, "It looks like we're being stopped. Get ready to subdue them."

"Got it." Veiviser got ready to summon his club.

"Hey there," Drave began, but he was cut off before he could say another word.

"Y'all are supposed to be banished. Why are ya back?" Ratch asked, spitting his grass shoot to the side.

"We need to knock some sense into the queen." Midna replied icily. She didn't want to strike without provocation, but she also didn't want to be wasting time talking to these two.

"Well, why don't y'all turn around and walk 'way back into the forest." It wasn't a question; it was an order from Ratch. Midna refrained from hitting him for ordering her around.

Just as Veiviser got ready to summon his club and swing it at Ratch's skull, Drave interrupted Ratch, "Now lookie here, Ratch. Maybe it would be better to let dem through. The queen has been acting mighty strange."

"How would you know, idiot? You never talked to her in your life." Ratch replied meanly.

Drave glared. "So? A fella can tell and it's all folks talk about at the tavern." He looked back at Midna and Veiviser. "These two brought her back and I don't think dey would harm her. Right, y'all?"

"I would never hurt her." Veiviser swore. Midna wasn't so sure about herself, so she simply nodded.

"See, they just be trying to help. Nothing more." Drave looked at Ratch. "Let dem through, Ratch."

"You know nothing, you idiot." Ratch muttered before closing his eyes. "I suppose we could let dem pass so long as dey tells her that y'all knocked us out."

"Knocked us out after a long struggle where we almost overwhelmed y'all." Drave added.

"Fine," Midna grumbled.

"Well, dey said dey would. Ain't that good enough fer ya, Ratch?"

"Go on." Ratch grumbled. "But I ain't taking the blame of losing de fight."

The two guards ushered Midna and Veiviser through. Drave muttered, "Good luck. Y'all gonna need it if dem rumors be true."

Veiviser wanted to ask what rumors, but after a reassurance that information from a bar was generally wrong (unless that bar was owned by someone reliable like Telma), he followed Midna through the streets. Some Twili stopped to stare at them, but it seemed as if no one wanted to halt them. There were even a few Twili who muttered their good wishes to the duo.

"If I knew we would get so much support, I would've brought myself a chariot to ride in." Veiviser muttered, amused by the thought of himself in a fancy chariot.

Midna rolled her eyes. "We'll still need to sneak into the castle someway. I doubt the guards there will be so lenient."

"I suppose," Veiviser shrugged, slightly disappointed that his dreams of a chariot wouldn't have worked out.

The black walls of the castle soon loomed over them though neither made any moves to get within eyesight of the guards perched at the top of the castle's walls.

"Should we take them out?" Veiviser asked.

"Unless you know any hidden pathways into the castle?"

"Nope," Veiviser shook his head before adding with a broad grin, "But that would've been really cool."

"Well, hopefully this meets with your expectations of cool." Two bolts of magic fired out from Midna's hand. Each one struck one of the guards, causing them to fall over and disappear behind the walls.

Veiviser watched this in mild horror. "Nothing happened to them, right?"

"They're not dead if that's what you mean." Midna replied. "Now we just need the drawbridge down and everything's good."

"And how do we do that?" Veiviser asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm working on it." Midna replied when her eyes caught a figure on the wall. "I missed one." She growled and got ready to hurl another bolt at the moving figure.

"No!" Veiviser grabbed Midna's arm. "I think it's a friend."

Midna watched as the magenta-haired Twili stopped above the drawbridge, which immediately began to lower itself.

"And so it is a friend…" Midna murmured. "It's Ramaine, but what's she doing out here?"

When the drawbridge fell to the ground, Midna and Veiviser hurried across. As Ramaine began to rise it up again, Midna asked, "What are you doing out here?"

The girl smiled. "I was just getting some fresh air." Of course, she had ulterior motives for the excuse and Midna realized them. She returned the girl's smile.

Veiviser waved at Ramaine. "Can you stay there?"

She shook her head. "I need to get back to the kitchen. Is it vital?"

"We have a friend who'll be coming in a little bit. Can you let him through? Please."

Ramaine considered it before sighing, "Fine… How do I know it's him?"

"His name's Araimak. He's got purple eyes and red runes. Can't miss him."

Ramaine's brow was creased as she thought about Veiviser's description. Purple eyes, red runes… There was only one person Ramaine knew like that, but she wasn't male. "I'll keep an eye out." She promised Veiviser. "Kamaria should be in the throne room. She hardly leaves it."

"Thanks. Now come on, Vei. We need to go." Midna motioned for Veiviser to follow her.

As the duo began to cross the path towards the palace, Midna heard Ramaine shout, "Oh and Link's alive." The assurance made Midna's heart feel lighter and she smiled.

--

Lita had finally fallen asleep, much to Link's relief. He had enjoyed talking with the girl with her usually fiery spirit, but it was tiring and he wanted to know what Livia had to say. Finally it was time for Livia to talk, but the Twili hesitated.

Kindly Link encouraged her. "It'll be okay."

Finally he managed to coax the story out of Livia. She spoke quietly, her eyes staring at the floor. Link could tell she was trying very hard not to cry from her constant stops to clutch her eyes shut or rub at them with her hands.

"I'm sorry." Link finally said at the end. "Orson was…" The only time Link had known Orson the man had been an opponent, something keeping them from accomplishing their goal. Words to describe Orson came to Link's mind and he said them without a trace of deceit, "He was a brave man who must've loved his family a lot to do everything he did."

Livia smiled sadly, the words clearly making her feel better. "Yes he was. Sometimes close-minded and unbelievably stubborn, but it was always to keep us safe and together."

"It was someone in black robes, right?"

Livia nodded her head. "I didn't see it, but Lita told me that the figure was tall and that she couldn't tell whether it was a man or woman."

"Maybe…" Link whispered aloud, thinking of the black-cloaked assassins in the field. Could it be their leader or their client?

"What? Do you have any idea who the murderer was?" Livia's eyes were burning fiercely. She wasn't much of a fighter, but anyone would want to get revenge for their dead husband.

"Not really, but we got attacked by some assassins wearing black. They might be related to whoever killed your husband." Link's eyes brightened as he considered the possibility. "Maybe whoever did it is still working. Do you know what it wanted?"

"No. I never spoke to it and Lita never told me anything about what it wanted." She looked down at the sleeping child. "I don't think she heard anything. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe this thing is what's causing Kamaria to act like this… I doubt it was after your husband, so the only logical person it would hunt after in your household is the princess. So maybe it's doing something to her now that's making her like this." There were so many gaps in the theory, but Link didn't really care. To him, it was a sound idea.

Livia thought over it before smiling. "It's a better thought than Kamaria doing this out of her own freewill."

Link's head was spinning rapidly. He wanted to tell Midna what he had thought up, see if there was any possibility for this type of work by use of magic, see if she thought it was plausible. And if it was true, it could prepare her to fight someone who knew how to use magic. If only, if only.

A chill ran up Link's spine and suddenly he felt the familiar clammy feeling of the Viduata Solis pulling him away from the realm of consciousness. No amount of struggling kept him from the penetrating darkness and he fell to the ground.

----

A/N: And that's it for today, folks! Parts of this chapter were very hard for me to write, but I wanted to finish before school started again, so I kept on writing. Originally I was going to write a bit more until Araimak's arrival, but I decided against it. Sorry. I also couldn't resist bringing Drave and Ratch back because they're so much fun to write and while I didn't enjoy this scene as much as their last, I still liked it.

Come back next time to find out what the confrontation with Kamaria will spell for the heroes and to learn the mystery behind Araimak! And did Link just die or is it just another fainting spell? See you next time,

Twilight Phantom Dragon