Author's Notes: I promised a second chapter before break ended and so you get a second chapter before break ends! The quote I chose for this chapter is originally in Latin, which is what I provide at the beginning of the chapter. However, at the end, you'll see the translation. It's a bit of a spoiler for the chapter, which is why I put the translation at the end. Enjoy the unraveling of secrets and motives.
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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"Saepe intereunt aliis meditantes necem."
-- Phaedrus (Thrace of Macedonia)
Chapter 18: The Sole Purpose of Life
Kamaria crossed her arms and sunk down to sit by Arion's side. "Make it fast." She snapped, still glaring at Sangra as she stroked Arion's mane.
"Don't you dare order me around." Sangra hissed, her black eyes flashing angrily.
"Okay, okay, no more fighting until the story is done." Veiviser cut in. "Maybe all this nonsense is a waste of time."
Midna sighed. As much as she wanted a peaceful solution, she wanted a faster solution much more. And fighting it out seemed like it would go much quicker than listening to a story.
"Before you begin, tell me that Link is still alive." It was the one thing that kept returning to the forefront of Midna's mind. If he was dead, well she wasn't about to listen to Sangra's story if that was the case.
"He's fine." Sangra waved an uncaring hand. "The guard would've notified me if he had died. Now if you're all done, are you ready to listen?"
The trio nodded their heads, some more enthusiastically then others. A silence had fallen over the throne room as each pair of eyes focused on Sangra sitting on her magically reconstructed throne. The 19 year-old took a deep breath and launched into her story,
"A long time ago, when Jericho was still king of Celestria, he sent a spy to his rival's kingdom. This kingdom was Lilith's kingdom and in that kingdom, the spy stole a powerful blade known as the Twi Blade. He brought it back to his king, expecting riches and rewards for his deed." Sangra's eyes narrowed as if she was seeing the injustice that had occurred so many years back in this throne room. "But instead he was killed."
A shiver passed through the throne room's occupants. Because keeping things inside was never his specialty, Veiviser asked, "Why'd Jericho kill him? Did he try to use the sword to overthrow the king?"
Sangra glared at Veiviser before answering in a tight voice. "He did nothing wrong. All he did was deliver the sword and when the king found that he couldn't draw it from the sheath, he got angry. And who better to take the anger out on than the unfortunate spy who brought him the sword?"
"Why couldn't he draw it?"
"Vei, maybe you should cut out the questions so we can get to the point of this tale." Kamaria muttered to the boy. He looked down at the floor, a bit crestfallen that his questioning would have to come to a close.
Sangra answered the question with a shrug before continuing, "The king's anger wasn't quelled by this one murder. He needed more, he needed to punish this spy and his family for the 'useless' sword. So he went after the only family the spy had; his sister and her daughter.
"They had received news of the spy's death beforehand and were able to flee into the forest. In the end, the mother was struck down by assassins that the king had sent after them. The girl, named Cary, saw her mother die right in front of her when she hadn't even seen 10 years yet. She saw the blood of the murder and she saw the injustice of the crime. But she couldn't do anything about it, for she was too small and weak." Sangra's eyes closed.
"All Cary could do was go to the meeting spot her mother had arranged for, a completely black tree with no runes. There she met with a young man named Liam who had been a friend of her mother's. He raised her and while he taught her to fight, Cary was never strong enough to think about exacting revenge on Jericho. However, she had something else.
"She had a story." Sangra's eyes opened, her gaze turning haunting. "She told her child the story of this injustice when the child reached thirteen years. And while this child tried hard to become strong, she did not have the power needed to fight the king. And so this cycle continued for generations. Each time, the descendant would practice but never reach the levels of power needed to exact revenge."
Impatience was whittling away at Midna. She already knew how the tale would end, with Sangra being the great-great-great-great-something-child of Cary and the first descendent powerful enough to be a threat towards Celestria's monarchy. There was nothing more she needed to hear, but one glance at Veiviser was enough to convince Midna to stay quiet. Perhaps things could really be settled with peaceful negotiations… And she was an idiot for even considering it.
"Then I was born. My father had powerful magic, magic that was passed down to me. Ever since my mother told me the story of how we came to the forest cottage, I've practiced with my magic. I've learned how to control it and how to use it to kill. All for this moment when I could kill the royal family and allow my ancestors to finally rest peacefully." Sangra stood up from the throne. "So you can see that I must complete my mission."
Veiviser shook his head and loudly replied, "No."
There was a flicker of surprise on Sangra's composed face before the female growled, "What don't you understand about it?"
"Well… It seems a bit silly." Veiviser raised his eyes to stare into Sangra's. "I agree that what Jericho did was bad, but you shouldn't live with revenge as your sole purpose. Especially revenge for a crime done hundreds of years ago. Kamaria is nothing like Jericho and it's a bit selfish to deprive Celestria of a kind ruler just for some revenge for deeds not even committed by her."
Sangra blinked and for a slim moment Midna thought the revenge-driven woman would back down. However, her eyes narrowed once more and she replied, "I must do this. My ancestors would be displeased if I did not do my duty."
Veiviser opened his mouth to argue, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. When he turned around, he saw that Kamaria was the one resting her hand on his shoulder. "Vei, just drop it. She's not going to give in and truthfully I can't forgive her even if she did drop her plans. She was the one who killed Orson."
"Why?" This question was directed at Sangra, not Kamaria, even though Veiviser was still watching Kamaria.
"Why'd I kill him?" Laughter bubbled up from her. "I killed him because he wouldn't hand over Kamaria. I killed him because I couldn't let anyone know that I was hunting for her. I sent assassins after you once you found Kamaria, so you wouldn't get in my way."
"It was you?!" Veiviser's voice was incredulous, almost as if he found it hard to believe the dark-cloaked assassins who had ambushed him twice were in league with Sangra.
Midna nodded her head in acceptance of the answer. She didn't find it hard to believe. Sangra had just the type of magic that could destroy the bodies of the assassins over long distances if they were caught. Truthfully, it was a relief to know it, because now she didn't have to wonder what other type of criminal was after them.
"Now that we're done talking, let's get to the real business." A spear of magic formed in Midna's hand as she rushed past Veiviser. The spear shot from her hand towards Sangra.
Sangra moved to the side, but she wasn't quite fast enough to keep the spear from slicing her shoulder. She hissed in pain before replying, "My business is with Kamaria. The two of you may leave with your lives."
"Not happening." Midna scowled.
"Fine, have it your way. I don't mind exterminating you along with your darling princess." Sangra's markings began to glow crimson as she called up magic.
"Vei, I want you to stay back." Veiviser opened his mouth to complain, but Midna continued on. "Your arm is still injured from our run-in with the assassins and you're not going to be much help against a powerful sorceress."
"But I want to help!" Veiviser whined.
Midna glared at him, but Kamaria quickly came up with an alternative use for Veiviser. "Why don't you go and get Arion out of here? He needs medical attention. I know I can rely on you to save him."
Veiviser looked down at the Messenger. He didn't think he could carry the heavy Messenger all the way to the infirmary, but dragging him somewhere safer was definitely within his range of ability. "Fine…" He grumbled. While he wanted to protect his friends, he didn't really want to fight anyway.
A sudden crash caused Veiviser to jump and turn his head. Sangra had launched magic towards them, but Midna had quickly crafted a shield to protect them. "Go, Vei." The boy nodded and set to his task of lugging Arion towards the safety of the double doors.
"You can go too." Midna muttered to Kamaria who was now standing by her side.
The girl shook her head. "I can't leave."
Midna accepted the answer with a nod before turning towards Sangra. "Let's see just how powerful your magic is." Magic shot out from Midna's palm, but it missed as Sangra's body broke apart into particles.
She reappeared to the far right of them before sending a wave of black magic at them. It hit the two of them, knocking them both to the ground. Fortunately the magic had only seared their skin and while there was pain, it was much less than had been expected. The thought that Sangra was just toying with them struck Midna, making her glower. Midna was not one to be played around.
Standing up quickly, Midna drew the Twi Blade from its sheath. Channeling magic through it, Midna lashed out towards Sangra. Meanwhile, Kamaria had fired her own magic shot at Sangra. Dodging both proved too much for Sangra and while she managed to clear out of the way of Midna's magic, Kamaria's magic struck her. Sangra skidded backwards, growling in pain.
"I see that you two are better than I expected. We'll just step things up." Sangra's mouth moved quickly, lips forming arcane words. The air in front of her shimmered, forming into three large spikes. Another word sent those spikes towards Midna and Kamaria.
Midna cleaved through two of the spikes with her sword, mildly surprised that it had worked without causing any large explosions of power. To her left, Kamaria had sidestepped one of the spikes and gotten ready to send her own magic at Sangra. What she hadn't expected was that the spike she had sidestepped would turn around on its path and fly straight towards her exposed back.
"Kamaria, behind!" Midna shouted.
The girl turned her head just in time to see the spike zooming towards her. It slammed into the back of her knee, causing Kamaria to cry out in pain. She toppled to the ground, her leg no longer able to hold her weight up. There was no need to wrench the spike out of her wound, for it dissolved shortly after tearing through her flesh. Blood seeped out of the wound.
A wicked smile twisted on to Sangra's lips. "Now just to finish the job."
--
"Link! Link! Wake up!" A pause. "He's not waking up."
"Here, poke him with my spear."
"Are you crazy? It'll hurt him!"
"Use the butt, idiot!"
Link's eyes fluttered open to see Vaschel and Morgana arguing. The spear in question was already sticking through the bars, flat end about a foot away from poking Link's side.
"I'm awake." Link announced, causing the spear to halt its progress and similar smiles to appear on the faces of the siblings.
"That's good to hear, Link. I told you we didn't have to poke him with the spear." Vaschel said triumphantly, tongue briefly sticking out to chide his sister.
Morgana rolled her eyes. "You said nothing of the sort." Then her attention went to Link. "We've got some good news for you."
Vaschel nodded in agreement and continued, "We're busting you out. Midna's arrived with Veiviser and they're confronting the queen as we speak."
Before Link could enquire about the conditions of the two, Lita interrupted. "Are they going to fix Aysel and turn her back to normal?"
Vaschel blinked questioningly. Fortunately Link answered for him, "They'll fix her problem." Whatever that problem was, Link was sure they would find some way to remedy it.
"Okay!" Lita responded brightly, obviously reassured for the moment. "Since you're letting Link go, can you let us out too?"
Vaschel crossed his arms and glanced at Morgana. "What do you think? Should we let the mother and her child out of their imprisonment?"
Morgana adopted a similar pose and facial expression. In just as serious a voice, she replied, "I don't know. They may cause trouble, especially the little one."
Lita's body shook in indignation as she denied the accusation. "I don't ever cause trouble! And neither does Mommy!"
"Well…" Vaschel glanced from Livia to Lita before nodding his head towards Livia. "Your mother does seem like a good sort. I suppose we can let her go, but…"
Morgana picked up from where her brother had trailed off. "We're not entirely sure about you. We've heard quite the tales of your troublemaking and we wouldn't want you running into something you shouldn't involve yourself in."
"I'm good." Lita whined, stamping her foot on the ground. "Isn't that true, Mommy, Mr. High-lee-in?"
Link had to contain his smile of amusement at the girl's antics and the good-natured teasing of the siblings. "I can vouch that she's a good kid."
Livia added, "And I'll make sure she stays far away from the scene."
"What scene?" Lita asked with her head canted to one side.
Vaschel ignored her question. "Well, if she's a good kid, then I think we should let both of them go. But you're on your honor not to run into trouble."
Lita nodded her head seriously, still believing that Vaschel and Morgana had been serious when contemplating her release. "I promise."
"Very well, let the kid and her mother go." Morgana took the key from Vaschel and unlocked the cell while Vaschel undid Link's lock.
"Let's go, Hero. We're going to take you straight to the infirmary where you should be." Vaschel helped Link up and began leading him out of the dungeon, closely followed by Lita, Livia, and Morgana.
"I need to go and see Midna. I need to help them." Link pressed, causing Vaschel to chuckle. The Hylian glared at Vaschel, but that did nothing to abate his chuckles.
"You're in no condition to do anything. The best you can do is stay out of the way and wait for them to finish up."
Link grumbled, "I can't sit around and wait for them to finish without driving myself insane."
"I can always knock you out." Vaschel offered, gesturing down at the guard who had been standing outside the dungeons. "That's what I did for this fine gentleman."
Link took one look at them and hastily answered, "Fine, I'll stay safe on one condition." When Vaschel nodded for him to go on, he said. "I want to be close to where they're fighting. That way news can reach me faster."
"Sounds fair enough." Vaschel nodded his head. "We'll set up a place for you to rest while the battle goes on."
Link gulped, "So it's already become a battle." He didn't want Midna or Veiviser to end up hurt. Then again, what could Kamaria really do against the two of them?
"Judging from the noises," Vaschel nodded. "But don't you worry. Everything's going to be fine."
"I sure hope so." Link agreed before a coughing fit attacked him. When it was over, he could see all eyes watching him with concern. "It's fine, just a small coughing fit."
"Are you going to be okay?" Lita asked.
"Yeah," Link smiled though he was not sure how honest the statement was. "Now let's get going."
"You sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?"
"Positive."
--
The familiar scream of pain made Veiviser bite his lip nervously. He had managed to drag Arion out of the throne room and had begun mounting the steps to bring the healer when the scream had pierced his eardrums.
Kamy!
Fear flooded through him. What if she was grievously injured? Or worse, dead? Hanging on to life by a delicate strand? They were not pleasant thoughts.
I have to go help her! I have to.
He turned around and began to run down the steps. A whimper brought Veiviser's eyes down to look at Arion. The Messenger… His eyes jumped from the doors that hid Kamaria from him and the breathing Messenger on the floor.
"I know I can rely on you to save him."
Those had been Kamaria's words right before he had agreed to bringing Arion to safety and then fetching help for the wounded Messenger. While he hadn't promised, inside his heart he knew that it had been a silent sort of promise. It was what Kamaria wanted from him.
Nervously the boy chewed on his lip. Midna was there to help Kamaria. So long as she wasn't dead yet (and Veiviser was positive she wasn't because her cry had been one of pain, not one of someone on the verge of death), Midna would help Kamaria. No one else could help Arion because there was no one else to help the Messenger.
"You better keep her alive, Midna." Veiviser muttered before turning around and charging up the steps to find the healer.
--
When they arrived in the entrance hall, the first thing Link saw was Arion resting on the ground. He looked at Vaschel and instantly asked, "What happened?" The Twili warrior shrugged before directing Link to sit back against the wall.
Meanwhile, Morgana had told Livia to keep a tight grip on Lita to prevent her from running towards the throne room before following her brother to Arion's side. Morgana looked carefully at the burnt flesh. "Magic," she finally announced.
"But why would Arion get hurt in all this? I thought he was in the stables." Vaschel scratched his head in puzzlement.
"Perhaps he sensed something off about his master and decided to investigate."
"That's not what happened." Veiviser's voice brought both siblings' eyes up to where Veiviser stood with the healer. "The Kamaria who was crowned is a fake." There was a gasp among the assembled group.
Lita smiled smugly as if she had known it all along. "I knew something was off about Aysel. She would never send me and Mommy to the dungeon."
"Tell us everything, Vei." Link asked. "Starting with how you know she's a fake."
As the healer rushed over to Arion's side to check on the Messenger's condition, Veiviser began to relate the story of what had occurred behind the twin doors. No one dared open them at the moment lest it cause a lapse in Midna and Kamaria's concentration. They didn't want to distract them and earn time for Sangra to strike. What they didn't know was that Sangra was so close to achieving her goal. All it would take was one direct hit and then death.
--
Midna stepped in front of the fallen Kamaria, brandishing her blade in Sangra's direction. "You'll have to go through me to get to her."
"Not a problem." Sangra said with a wave of her hand. Spikes similar to the ones she had previously conjured except much smaller and much more numerous appeared around her.
Remembering that dodging them was useless, Midna channeled her magic into the Twi Blade. As the spikes flew at her, Midna twisted the sword vertically through the air in a circular fashion. A trail of magic was left by her sword and when the spikes hit into it, they were frozen in place long enough for the sword to come slashing through them. When the barrage of spikes ended, Midna smirked at Sangra.
"It'll take a lot more than that to get past me."
"I see." Sangra replied. She flung something from her hand at a speed that astonished Midna. The thing she had thrown flew swiftly through the air and while Midna moved out of its way, it still managed to slice a few strands of her red hair. When Midna glanced over to where the item had lodged into the opposite wall, she could see that it was a dagger.
"So you're not just a magician." Midna commented, her eyes going back to where Sangra had been standing. Except she was no longer there.
"I learned plenty to prepare for this day." Midna whirled around to the source of the voice, seeing that Sangra had teleported next to Kamaria, a dagger poised in one hand. Kamaria had surrounded herself in a magical shield, but it wouldn't keep Sangra away from her for long.
Midna didn't reply as she launched herself towards Sangra, a bolt of magic preceding her. It smashed into Sangra's side and sent her flying away from Kamaria. Midna charged towards where Sangra had landed.
A shield met Midna's blade as it descended towards Sangra. The Twili on the ground smiled at the stopped attack before blowing her shield outwards. The magic hit Midna away from Sangra, earning the Twili enough time to stand up.
"This is getting tiresome." Sangra stated.
"I couldn't agree more."
Sangra's fingers formed an upside-down isosceles triangle. She muttered some words before yelling, "Andask!" The space of her triangle was glowing black and from its depths a shadowy beam was fired at Midna.
Midna sent magic through the Twi Blade, causing it to be surrounded in a teal glow. She charged towards the beam, not completely sure of what possessed her to do this, but confident in her decision. The Twi Blade hit the center of the beam, sank a few inches into the magic, and then lodged firmly as if it was cleaving through something solid. Midna pushed as much as magic as she could, calling on the power of the sword to dissipate the dark magic that Sangra was using. For a minute, the blade pressed against the beam, each one struggling for dominance.
Then the blade's magic pierced through Sangra's spell, intersecting the magic Sangra had used with teal lines and turning the magic against its own user. Sangra's screams of pain filled the room as her magic slammed into her. The bright glow caused Midna to raise an arm over her eyes. When she uncovered her eyes, there was just a burn mark on the floor where Sangra had once been standing.
"Those who plot the destruction of others often fall themselves." ~ Phaedrus
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A/N: It's been a while since I've wrote something with so much action, but I think I did a good job with it. I hope it was exciting. While Sangra has died, there are still some other things to work out over the next few chapters involving the amulet and the Twi Blade. This will be quite the trip. And for those who are curious, Sangra's story is in parts of the prologue. You can probably guess who all the characters in the prologue are now as well as how the bits fit into the story. Reviews are always appreciated!
Twilight Phantom Dragon