Chapter Thirteen

Link awoke early the next morning, as shop owners began setting up; it was around five-thirty, according to the sun's positioning. He quickly resumed human form and strolled to Telma's Bar, already feeling life surging into Castle Town as bustling owners got an early start. The men and women running the markets on the South Road called eagerly to him, and he consented and bought an assortment of fruits and vegetables. He filled up two bottles with different soups, and his wallet was considerably lighter when he entered Telma's Bar. He had plenty of helpful food to give to Impaz when he went to visit her in an hour's time.

Telma, too, was awake and humming cheerily. She was scrubbing the bar, but looked up and smiled genially when Link entered.

"Link, honey! You won't believe how different Eir is now." She shook her head, chuckling. "She's so much happier now with Juniper gone and the weight of that Mirror Shard off her chest. Nothing's going wrong with it, though?" she asked anxiously, her grin disappearing. "It ain't doing anything funny to you?"

Link shook his head, and Telma's grin returned. "That's great, honey! I always knew there was something about you, something to protect you against evil…must be them feral eyes you got, eh?" She laughed, and Link joined in, but he was laughing at something else. How ironic that she said he had feral eyes, when a mere half-hour ago he was indeed a beast…

"So, is Eir up?" he asked, changing the subject. The bar was completely empty except for the two of them. The other members of the Group were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, she should be here any moment," she assured him. "Everyone else is sound asleep, after all that ruckus yesterday! Sometimes I wonder how you can operate on such little sleep."

Link shrugged, smiling. "Magic," he replied simply. "I've got a special little gemstone, you see, that lets me turn into something that doesn't need a lot of sleep."

Telma shook her head amusedly. "Link, where do you come up with this stuff?"

"It's true," he insisted, but smiled all the same.

"Aye, of course it is." She flung up her hands in a bemused manner. "Well, as long as you're happy. You know, I haven't seen you smile like this in a long while, Link. I'm just glad that you are, too."

OoO

Eir arrived at the Bar a couple of moments later and, in an hour's time, they had exited through the South Gate and Link was rummaging through his equipment bag for the Horse Call. When he found it, he took it out with a flourish and put it to his lips, beckoning Epona to him. When the horse arrived, Link helped Eir scramble into the saddle, and then swung himself expertly in behind her. He wound his arms around her to grasp the reigns and, with a gentle kick, moved Epona to a trot, and began heading across Hyrule Field. He rode slow, happy to take his time as they trekked across the grassy planes. They made it over the Bridge of Eldin in easy time, and he walked Epona down the long, tunnel-like pathway that led to the gaping hole in the rock face. He dismounted Epona and helped Eir out of the saddle. He climbed up the jutting platform, and Eir hesitantly mimicked his movements. They began walking through the cave into the Hidden Village.

"Link, is it weird that I'm nervous?" she asked, her soft voice echoing off of the rocks.

"Not at all," he replied smilingly. "I'm a bit nervous, truthfully." His reasons were very different, however; Impaz was frail and possibly dying, and he was afraid that he might be too late with the food she requested.

They entered the old, abandoned village moments later. Eir looked around at the wooden houses, shaking and rattling in their frames. Cats ran up to them, and Eir smiled warmly at them, but did not bend down to pet them. Link gave a few pats on the head, but determinedly marched through the village, with Eir hurrying alongside him, towards Impaz's house. The wind gently dipped down to the ground, causing whorls of dust to burst into the air. It was deathly silent except for the meows of frolicking cats.

Link nodded loudly on Impaz's doors, but did not wait for her to answer. "I'm coming in," he announced, and forced it open. Eir watched, shocked, as Link strode into the place.

The place was pitch black. Link was startled by this for a moment, but wasted no time in digging out his lantern and holding it high. The windows had been completely covered by wooden slats, allowing no light in. On the bed to Link's right, Impaz lay, looking almost glued there by terror.

"Impaz!" shouted Link, rushing to her side. "What's wrong?" The old woman tried to talk, but nothing but a quiet wail came out. "Never mind, never mind. Look, I brought you food. Here: take this!" He pulled out a bottle of soup and placed it in her hands. Impaz did not seem to register the change; she looked at Link with wide, frightened eyes, barely recognizing him.

"Link?" asked Eir nervously from the doorway. "What's going on?"

"She's sick," replied Link from between gritted teeth. "Quick, let's get some light in the room. Let's pull those boards down from the windows."

Eir complied, and Link stood up to help. While the boards had been put up in perfect rows, they had not been done so very well, and almost halfheartedly. The nails that had been used to keep them in place were rusty, but they certainly hadn't been there yesterday.

When Eir and Link had thrown all of the boards into a pile in the center of the room, the two converged at Impaz's bedside. She had brought up a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light that now filtered in; she put down her arm, stirring the dust motes.

"What happened?" asked Link in a forceful but concerned voice. Panic was flooding him. He knew it was not his fault, yet cold blame was creeping up his stomach. If he had only gotten food there earlier…

"It's…not…me," she rasped out, her voice surprisingly strong. "It's not me. I don't see me. It's not…it's not…" Her body was then wracked with coughs. Link helped pull her into an upright position. Her hands slipped from around the bottle and it lay on the bed. Link picked it up and thrust it into her hands. She looked down, mildly interested, and feebly tried to pull off the cork. Pity surged Link, and he opened it; he then helped her tip back the bottle and drink it.

"Oh…you're that boy…yes…" She nodded smiling weakly. She seemed to have gained some strength from the soup. "Have you brought…Chisstron?"

"I brought his daughter," he told her. Her eyes widened in shock and traveled to Eir's face, which was paled with concern.

"You are…Chisstron's…child?"

Eir nodded fervidly. "Yes, that was my father's name. Virvatuli – that was my mother."

Tears began to roll down Impaz's wrinkled face, tears of joy, of painful memories. "You…are my granddaughter, then." She smiled weakly, then slumped down. "I am frail. I could not move today. I could not sleep, so I boarded the windows."

"That must have taken a lot of work," exclaimed Link, feeling somewhat uneasy. "How did you do that?"

"I worked hard. It took me all night. The cats know," she whispered, gesticulating to the open doors. "They know I'm going to leave this world soon."

"Not if we can help it," interrupted Link firmly. "I will take you back to Castle Town, and bring you to the doctor. We have to be quick, though."

He helped the old woman to her feet. Eir went to her other side, hovering anxiously. Although Link did not have the highest faith in the Castle Town doctor, he was better than Link's own frantic treatments of food and panic.

OoO

Link, Impaz, and Eir arrived in Castle Town quickly, and rushed to the doctor's. Link muttered a small apology to Eir for this not being an ideal reunion, and then he escorted her back to Telma's Bar, suggesting she stay there. He gave Louise an indicatory look, and Link left a bar. He turned into a wolf and, moments later, the fluffy white cat came out of the bar.

"You wanted something from me, dear?" she asked in her politely curious voice. "I understand human speech; you could have said it to me back in the Bar."

"Yes," agreed Link, "but I don't think Telma and Eir would find my actions entirely sane. I want you to keep an eye on Eir, alright? I don't know exactly how she's feeling, and I can't rightly say that I believe that Juniper is gone entirely."

"Certainly I will," replied Louise, "but why couldn't you have asked Telma?"

Link grinned, wondering how odd it looked on a wolf. "Because you're a cat. You perceive things better than others. If I told any of the humans that I was, well, capable of this, of switching between species….Well, let's just say that they'd probably sent me to see Eir's therapist. But you understood at first glance, didn't you?"

"You don't act like the average animal, you know," commented Louise lightly. "I guess I first understood because you had an imp on your back." Louise glanced up. "But she's gone now, so I guess you're a bit more convincing."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied, smiling to himself. "Now, I must be off, but I'll be seeing you."

Louise smiled with her eyes. "Yes. I'll keep a lookout on Eir for you. Will you be back later today?"

"Probably," answered Link, "but I don't know when."

Louise nodded. "That's acceptable." She turned around and disappeared back through the bar.

6