Chapter 12: Link's oath
Author's note: Well, I'm sort of suffering from writer's block. Bear with me, please! This chapter is short, but it is one of the most important chapters that I'll be writing. Please review. I am as of instating my 5 rule, meaning that after I get five reviews, I'll publish the next chapter. That is, unless my writer's block goes away.
As soon as the balloon landed, Blue noticed that Zelda's belt was lying on the ground.
Link was terrified. What if something happened to her? He'd never forgive himself. He and Blue noticed that there were a few footsteps leading into the forest, so they took off. Red, meanwhile, felt himself slip into a sort of daze. His mind wandered and he followed them, but far more slowly. He closed his eyes and let instinct guide his feet, and all of a sudden, he saw something. In his mind's eye, he could see a figure far off. The figure was dressed from head to toe, and when Red got a better look at it, could tell that the figure was a girl with blond hair that just barely showed in the small opening for her face.
"Greetings," she said quietly.
"Hi," he replied.
"Red, I'm here to warn you. Hyrule has barely an hour left before the prophecy comes true."
"Huh?" her words were confusing Red.
"See, there is a prophecy that claims that at the end of every age, Hyrule goes through a period of darkness. Five thousand years, to be exact," explained the girl.
"What happens during those five thousand years?" Red asked.
"That cannot be known, for time itself seems to freeze for those creatures of the light," she told him. "However, we know that for those five thousand years, the creatures of darkness are free to roam, led by their own kings."
The fear that this last phrase struck in his heart was enough to rouse him from his partial sleep.
"Less than an hour, huh?" he thought. "We'll have to warn the princess!" just then, he heard some movement in the tree right above him.
"Link! Blue!" he shouted. They came over. Seeing that there was something moving in the trees, Red conducted a short piece on the Wind Waker, causing the leaves to rustle and a small figure to fall out of the trees and gasp.
Imagine Link's surprise when he came face-to-face with a six-year-old Zelda.
"ZELDA?" he gasped.
"Oh, Nayru," she swore quietly. "I hoped you wouldn't have to see what happened to me!" With that, she burst into tears.
"Shh, calm down," Link picked her up and embraced her. "It's not as if I'm unhappy with you," he said soothingly. Suddenly, something odd began happening. He felt as though he could see within her memories. He could hear her scream as Shadow Link hit her with an arrow. He could tell it was the arrow of his fallen clone, Vio. Well, he wasn't sure how Vio and Shadow Link were related, but knew he was upset. At Vio. He was the rational one. And it was his arrow.
"So he's the one to blame for this," he thought angrily. Zelda was still sobbing, but to a weaker degree. He signaled to Blue, who began playing Zelda's lullaby.
"Link? There's so much that I wanted to—" she whispered before he cut her off.
"No. Not now. We must get to the Tower of Spirits. I don't know why, but I know we must."
She nodded off at that moment. Link continued holding her as he turned to the other two.
"We must go now." They nodded. Just then, they saw that the sky began to darken, as though a storm were coming. However, this one was far more sinister than a normal storm. And the sky itself seemed to darken, not just the clouds.
"The period of darkness," breathed Red. He explained his vision.
"And I know, somehow, this is related to Zelda," Link finished.
"What happened?" Blue asked.
"Vio hit her with an arrow. It probably had a curse on it, from the way she's reacted," Link replied.
The three began to walk in the direction of the great tower, Link still cradling Zelda as if she were the most precious thing in the world. As a matter of fact, her dress was so large on her that he pulled it around her like a blanket. Red could almost feel Link's emotions, and was a little frightened. They could hear thunder rumbling all around them, and Red picked that moment to ask.
"Link, I can tell you're upset. What are you going to do?"
"First of all, we'll have to try to find a cure for Zelda before she disappears," he began. Red could hear his voice crackling.
"And as for Vio?" he asked in a dangerous voice. "It's his arrow, and he's going to pay for it."
"How?" Red asked.
"With his life," Link replied in a voice that the others had never heard him use before.
Just then, lightning flashed, illuminating his face. It showed nothing but pure fury, though masked slightly.