Hello all of my wonderful reviewers! I hope that you enjoy this new chapter.
vegeta rulez: YOU SUCK! (Sobs) Just kidding, I don't know what's wrong with try going to soulcalibur3. it's the SCIII website.
dp03kf: It's okay, my tears have been dried! Thank for reviewing.
Super Davis: Thank you for your insight, and actually, I've been saving the Wind for more. And it's funny that you call the Wind 'he' because for some reason I've always called the Wind 'she', and why, I have no idea. I hope that my writing has matured, I want it to. Thank you for still reading this fanfiction, it has really helped! Thanks for reviewing.
Ben Stylin: That's IT? That's all that you're going to say? I feel…. Wounded… Just kidding! Thanks for reviewing.
Hylian Dragoness: Oh, why hello! I LOVE your new name, and why I haven't any idea. You should make your own account, well, if you want to write stories, it does annoy me when people join and then they don't even have any fics up! But, that's their choice, isn't it? And besides, it IS cool to know that you're a member of the site. XD Thanks for reviewing.
redskin122004: Well, I still wouldn't give you the link this ugly Talim/Link fic, but even if I wanted to I couldn't anymore. has apparently been shut down or something weird like, and I had the link on the website. Thanks for reviewing.
Dakyu: You don't understand why Talim wants Link to go? (Falls over) Oh well…. That'd be my fault for not making it clearer. I'm going to have more action, but I don't know when. I'm the writer and I don't even know? That's odd… thanks for reviewing.
stuck-in-a-tree: You've just given me an idea for romance! Thanks for reviewing.
A irritated Talim's Friend: That 'a' shouldn't be 'a' it's should 'an'. That's all that I have to say, besides thank you for the review. (Sucker.)
Massacre-of-Flies: Your review game me the most will power and courage and steam! I hope that I can make each chapter better then the other, thank you so much for your review! (Also, interesting name you have there.)
Star Swordsman: Your review has defiantly given me courage and strength, thank you so much! Your review has truly helped me. Thank you for reviewing.
L.V.M.J: I don't have the link any longer, but the fic has now been horribly printed into my mind. (Shivers) Thank you for reviewing.
AnimeDutchess: Why, hello. Have you reviewed for any of my other fics? Your name sounds familiar. Well, here's the chapter that you and my other faithful reviewers wanted! Thanks for reviewing.
The Writing Bee: Of course I'm insane! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Thank you for giving me two reviews.
There are all of my review answers… phew.
This chapter isn't going to have any fighting in it, at all. This chapter is to conscentrate on Talim's and Link's relationship together.
Chapter Ten: Painful Tears
Link sat there, underneath the tree, looking up at the sunlight that glimmered there through them. The light reminded him of his dear friend Navi, even though the light wasn't white, it still seemed as if she was right there. He wanted to reach out, and call for her. She was the one friend that had stayed with him all through his life and had never left him.
"But I WANT to go!" Navi screamed wildly as she smacked herself against Link by flying into his chest. After a few more seconds, he caught her and held her up as he sat there in front of the Forest Temple on the stump that Saria often sat on herself.
"You can't Navi." Link stated firmly, his voice filled with sorrow and depression.
"Yes I can! I'm your fairy! I'm have to be there next to you…" A small, sparkling tear fell from her eyes, and Link could barely see it, but he could feel it as if it were a waterfall beating against his palm.
"Nayru says that you'll die, and I can't let you die." Link's head hung, and he felt his small, pint sized friend fall to her knees, her cries echoing through the empty forest. He brought his hand up to his chest, and Navi placed her small, tiny head against her shoulder.
"Y-you can't go!" Navi cried out in staccato. "Please Link, the Deku Tree was my closet friend and he died, and now you have to leave? That's… that's just like you dieing… because… because you're never going to be able to come back… It isn't fair…"
'It's not fair'…? Was it fair? He didn't know, and he couldn't tell, and he didn't want to think about it. But he did.
Time dripped away like a leaky pipe from Hyrule Castle where one of the maids or someone else would have to go and fix it, you could go over, tighten it, and it would stop. But time… it just kept going without stopping, and no matter what, it didn't stop for anyone, it didn't care who you were or what was happening, it just kept on going, despite the matters. Just like a dripping pipe. Only, you couldn't stop the dripping, and it always did the same pitter-patter, same rhythm, never going faster nor slower.
Talim lay there quietly, staring up at the ceiling, the Wind blew through the room, and she just lay there, staring.
'Talim?' The Wind called out, small Wind like fingers brushing against her face. 'My Dear Talim, won't you answer me?'
Talim answered, neither with her wind, nor with words from her lips. She felt numb, not numb with pain, but with the sorrow that ran through her veins. She wanted Link to come back. She needed him to come back. He hadn't left already, had he? She wanted to say good-bye…
The day pushed by, slowly, tirelessly, and Link still hadn't come back. Talim refused to eat. She wouldn't eat until Link came back…
And then night fell, like a dreaded shadow, but she didn't want night yet, she felt like she were being forced to have a fat, thick heavy fur blanket wrapped around her when the sun was beating down, the temperature was unbearable high, and there was no shelter from the heat, not a house nor tree not a single shadow around.
It was almost midnight, and Talim still wouldn't sleep. She didn't talk, eat, nothing. She just… waited.
Kalana sat there, the Wind roaming around her gently as she sat there on the balcony of her home that was the edge of the Village, her balcony facing opposite of the village, and all that she could see was the wide open ocean through two mountains set far apart.
"Talim," Kalana asked the Wind in her old, withered voice. "How is Talim? I haven't asked you in so long…"
'She is wounded.'
Kalana immediately looked around, as if she could see the Wind.
"What? What happened?"
'She was ambushed by a strange creature named Charade and was wounded in the stomach, she will live, but she will be unable to travel for so long. She has told Link to leave without her.'
Link. The Wind had told Kalana about him, the young man with long, pointed ears, who traveled with her dear young Talim. She was grateful to Link, and praised him. But at that moment, she wasn't thinking about Link, she was thinking about Talim.
"Unable to go on?" Kalana whispered, she shook her head. "This cannot be… she must do what she set out to do. She complete her quest…"
Kalana looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling down at her brightly. The moon was full, and so she could see everything, she could see like a hawk, even though she was so old.
"My dear, sweet, lovely Talim," Kalana whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek. "You will be healed…"
Talim had fallen asleep somehow; she didn't know why she had let herself. She was dreaming, standing in a green, lush field, the Wind blowing around her, hills everywhere.
"I need to wake up!" Talim cried as she looked around herself, she kicked the ground, and let out a small scream.
"Talim!"
Talim turned around and saw her Grandmother, Kalana, standing there, a few yards away, arms open. Her eyes went round, and Talim immediately ran into her arms.
"Grandmother…" Talim whispered, but then she backed away, and looked at her. "You felt so real, why? I am dreaming!"
"Dreaming, yes, but I am here inside of you." Kalana smiled, and Talim noticed that she had all of her teeth, cleaned, and that she was younger...? She was younger, so much younger, her voice was crisp and new, her hair not its normal pure white as Talim had always seen it, and it was long, down to her waist, a thick pure black. Her eyes were black as well, sparkling, not a wrinkle to be seen in her skin, her back smooth and strait. Talim had only recognized her because of her voice, but her voice was still young, like a sweet night in gale.
"Grandma, you're so…"
"Young? Yes." She chuckled as she looked at herself, "Yes, I am, aren't I?"
"Why are you here?"
"You must be healed." Her Grandmother told her simply as she placed her hands on her Grandchild's small shoulders. "You must go on."
"But how can I?" Talim asked as she shook her head and looked down, her eyes mournful. "My wound…"
"I will heal you, dear Talim." Kalana told her in a sweet, smiling whisper. Talim looked up at her Grandmother, confused. "You don't understand… not yet at least."
She took Talim's hand, opened it, and pressed pieces of Soul Edge into her palm, and then closed it.
"Your little Link forgot the pieces that Charade left when he killed It." Kalana chuckled as she rubbed Talim's cheek. A tear fell down from her eyes, and she sniffled, wiping her tear away. She looked at Talim, directly in the eyes, her smile still there even though her eyes were serious. "Good-bye Talim. I will be with you, in your heart…"
Talim's eyes flew open, and she looked around her pitch-black room, her eyes adjusting. But why were they adjusting? She hadn't seen any light…
She felt something in her hand. She lifted it up, and opened it, and saw something that gave her both a leap of joy and sheer terror.
It was the pieces of Soul Edge that her Grandmother had given her.
She shot strait up, and jumped off of her bed, as she looked at the pieces, shocked. Then, when she realized what she had done, she looked down at her stomach, covered with wraps. She unwrapped them, fumbling, and then when the wraps were clear; she saw something that made her gasp… her wound… was gone?
"How?" Talim's eyes went wide as she rubbed her stomach, not even a scar! "How? Wind?"
The Wind blew by, and Talim immediately dropped her joyful amazement when she sensed that there was something wrong with the Wind.
"Wind…?"
'She has died…' The Wind cried out in a mournful way as it circled the room. 'She gave her life so you could be healed, young Talim.'
"W-what?" Talim's eyes filled with tears as she fell to her knees, and as she sat down on her heels, a tear fell from her eyes. "Grandmother… no… Grandmother… you can't be gone… please… please…."
Talim stood up, still crying silently, and she walked over to her pack, tears dripping to the floor, or on herself. She pulled out her Wind Guides, put her new Soul Edge pieces inside, and then snuck out of her room, and soon after, the house.
She walked quiet through the streets, going into the grass, and walked, walking for half an hour, until she stopped.
"Grandmother…" Talim whispered as she bowed down, her head touched the ground in the grass. "This dance… is for you…."
She stood up, bringing her Wind Guides up, her back strait and strong. She then twirled one Wind Guide in her hand, then the other, and then she began her dance, that to anyone with a single glance would look odd. But to someone who would take notice, and could feel… they would see a beautiful dance. A dance filled with mourning, a dance filled with honor for the one who had departed. As Talim danced, her tears danced as well as they fell, and although Talim's vision was blurred, she knew just where to step, and knew just where she was.
Link walked through the trees, slowly making his way back to the village, wanting to go back, but at the same time, not wanting. He forced himself to go though, for he wanted to see Talim's face…
He broke out of the trees, and looked around, noticing that he had strayed from his original path and that he was quite a ways from the town. He looked around, and saw someone in that grass, standing up, strait up.
And that certain person had… black hair… brown skin…. Wait….
"T-Talim?" Link gasped as he stepped forward to get a closer look. He cupped his hands around his mouth, stopping for a moment, and yelled out: "Talim?"
The stranger turned, and Link knew that it was her, but, how?
"Talim…" Link ran over to her, still a bit dumbfounded, which was fortunate in a way, so he wasn't losing his mind. He stopped right in front of her, and she looked at him, tears in her eyes, and don't her cheeks. He looked at her, and regained himself, and looked at her again, this time, fully. "Talim, what's happened? What's wrong?"
"My Grandmother," Talim began, her voice beginning to crack as she spoke. "She gave up her life so she could heal me, she's dead because of me!"
Talim bowed her head as he could see tears falling from her eyes. Link placed his hands on her shoulders gently, and then, he pulled her close to him, and hugged her, tightly yet softly. She wrapped her arms around him as well, and Link could feel her tears going through his tunic, he could feel the wet, warm tears.
"Talim…" Link laid his hand on her head, gently. "It's… alright…"
He didn't know what else to say, and he didn't know if anything that he said would make a difference, but there was no harm in trying, was there? They stood there, completely silent, hardly a noise around except for the Wind, which weaved around them as silently as they could, the grass gently moving. The moon shown down, her silver light glimmering down brightly at the two of them, almost in a sorrowful way. Talim just stood there, in his arms, quiet.
"You must be… confused." Talim sniffled as she pulled herself away from Link, and she faced away from him for a moment before she looked back up at him. "My Grandmother from my village, she was a Healer, and was just about to finish teaching me how to heal, she had one last lesson to teach me, but I never learned it because I left.
"The last healing power that she wanted to teach me… it was called 'Sacrifice' it's where you give your life up to heal someone, and you can do it anywhere, no matter how far you are." She sniffled as she explained this, blinking away her tears. "Sacrifice was the Healing technique that she used on me… she visited me, in a dream, telling me good-bye. I didn't know what she was saying…"
"Talim," Link put his hands on her shoulder again, and gave her the best smile that he could. "I know… what it feels like, to lose someone that you love. I've lost everyone from Hyrule."
"Thank you." Talim whispered as she looked down and closed her eyes, she sat down on her ground, and Link sat down, right beside her. She looked at him, and gave him a meek smile back. "I left them… but knowing that they were there, that they were safe… it made me feel better. Knowing that they were alright, knowing that nothing had happened to them, and that I was keeping them safe by leaving, that is what has kept me from going back, knowing that I'm going to protect them from both Soul Edge and themselves from Soul Edge's insanity that it creates."
"That's what keeps me going," Link nodded as he looked back at her, strait in her eyes. "Knowing that I'll be keeping everyone safe…. That's what always keeps me going. But you're lucky, with your Wind, because you can know how they are, if someone's ill, depressed, just small things like that. I can't do that. I don't know what's happening there, I have no idea."
"I never thought about that…" Talim whispered as she looked at the ground, taking her eyes away from Link's. "The Wind has always been with me, I never really thought about not having the Wind… how do you… do it? Keep on going?"
Link scratched his head for a moment, and blushed. Talim looked at him when he didn't answer, although she didn't speak.
"You." He admitted, making himself take his hand away from his head.
"Me?"
"Because you're so innocent, and you've always known how to keep things up, you know how to make people happy, and you're honest."
"I'm not doing a very good job at staying happy right now," She replied with a bitter laugh as she sniffled again. "Am I?"
"You're doing better then I could." He replied with a weak smile as a memory went through his head. "When I was traveling on a mission to save Hyrule, I was put to sleep for seven years. When I woke up, everything that was destroyed, in disaster, and everything that I knew had been changed, and those who I grew up with didn't even recognize me. And then, I heard that Zelda was dead…"
Talim listened, patient, quiet.
"I didn't know that she was my sister then, but I loved her so much as a friend, and I could hardly control myself when I heard that she was dead. I destroyed nearly anything that I could find, and couldn't stop making a racket." He felt odd… saying this, because he had never told this anyone at all. But there was something special about Talim, something. "My friend Navi was the only person who kept me going, who kept me motivated, and reminded me who I was fighting for, and what would be lost if I didn't go on."
"Stay with me, please." Talim whispered as she bowed her head, Link looked at her, surprised. "I don't want to be alone."
"I don't either." Link agreed as he touched her hand softly, and he rubbed it, gently. "We'll stay together, for as long as we can."
"I promise."
"I promise as well."
It was only the very next day, when Talim and Link had left. They felt bad leaving so soon, but what had happened there… they just had to leave. Maxi had gone somewhere, and hadn't returned the next day, but it was clear that he was coming back for his items were still there. They decided to leave without him, after all, as Talim stated, it was a compittion against others to get to Soul Edge first.
"I'm glad to be going again," Talim declared as she walked beside Link as the town faded behind them. "If I stayed there… I think that I would have drowned in my depression."
"You sure that you want to leave so quickly?" Link asked, still worried.
"You mean my Grandmother?" Talim asked, her voice instantly going soft. "She wouldn't have wanted me to stay there, sad. Even though I'm sad, she would have wanted me to keep on going, that's what she died for, so I could keep on going and destroy Soul Edge. I won't disappoint her, I could never disappoint her after her sacrifice."
"You sound like me." Link remarked, serious as he lifted an eyebrow.
"I do?"
"It's almost scary."
Talim laughed, grinning from ear to ear.
"She would have wanted me to be happy too." Talim told Link when she saw him confused look when she laughed. "I will do everything to do what she wanted me to!"
"Even someone dieing doesn't get down." Link remarked, then, he looked down, ashamed. "Oh… I'm sorry…"
"It's alright." Talim gave him a smile. "I can't be sad, not now. I don't have time. Mourning more will have to wait for now. And besides, I can feel her soul, it's in the Wind."
"Right." Link nodded, although he had no idea what she meant.
They walked in silence for a while, and then, Talim stopped and looked at Link.
"Thank you for listening to me." She told him as she gave him a small bow.
"Thank you as well," Link gave her a small bow too, Talim smiled at him.
"You're brave." She told him as she looked at him. "Going on like that when you thought that your sister was dead."
"No I'm not." Link stated, and this surprised Talim, and she looked at him, confused, and he answered her thoughts: "I've always had to rely on others for support. I may have fixed things for others, but someone always has to be there to give me that support, I can't do things by myself, I need someone there, even if they're not there all the time, I need to see them, I have to. I'm a coward really."
"That doesn't make you a chicken." Talim told him as she looked at him. "Everyone needs help. If you can't have anyone there to help you, if you refuse help, then that isn't right. I've always had the Wind with me, those who have no one… I feel pain for them, I can't imagine what they've gone through."
Link didn't reply to that, but he said something else: "This reminds me of when it's my birthday."
"What?"
"My birthdays always make me depressed."
"Why?"
"Because the day that I went to sleep for seven years was my Birthday, and the day that I woke up from those seven years and learned what had happened to Hyrule, that was when I was told that Zelda was dead, it was my Birthday. I felt so… useless. Because I wasn't able to prevent what had happened, and when another year had gone by and I still hadn't been able to save Hyrule. And so whenever it's my Birthday, I always remember those two days, those years."
"That is horrible…"
"Sometimes," Link felt odd saying this, and he felt… revealed? "I really just don't wish that I was born, it was just too hard."
"Well, no matter what you say," Talim gave him a cheerful grin as she began walking again. "I'm glad that you were born."
This chapter is dedicated to my friend Black, who said the exact same thing to me on my Birthday.
So Until Next Time,
CrypticElf….