Chapter 9: An unexpected visit; Meeting Ralis; A past rememberance.
Me: Wow… I can't believe this is the 9th chapter… Um, I have to admit, that I did
indeed get lazy and put the story off for a while. BUT I'm making an effort to
continue! Anyways Thank you so much for the good reviews!!
Doppleganger: Kitty/Neko doesn't own Zelda or any games etc etc etc. This is
strictly fanbased.
Me: Yes! What she said. Wait… Who the hell are you (and where did you come
from?)
Doppleganger: I'm your look alike, you spotted me now die.
Me: LIES!
I was hurting so much, and there seemed to be something stuck in my side. I must have gotten hurt while I was sleeping.
Then another sharp pain came, and I passed out.
I'm walking along a desert road. There's a fork in the path in front of me. One of them seems to lead to a distant place that looks green and full of trees. There is also comfortable looking houses as well. I looked over at the other fork and saw a very vast desert. It looked even more barren then where I stand . The trees are black, and rotting, and vultures seemed to hang around everywhere, circling something on the ground.
I didn't know exactly which path to choose, the greener path looked way more pleasant than the dead looking one. But, it seemed that I would be needed more in the wasteland ahead on the left. So I chose it.
No matter how "good" the green life seemed to me, I couldn't go there yet, not until I completed a task in that desert.
I woke up again, drenched in a cold sweat.
I couldn't see anything, yet I could feel that I was on top of a very comfortable bed. I wasn't hurting anymore either. I was quite groggy and realized that I was dreaming of that awful pain. I looked out the window and saw the full moon. All my anxiety melted away while I gazed at it. Finally I fell back into a more peaceful sleep.
The next day, I woke up quite refreshed. But what's strange, is that I never seem to remember my dreams. I got up and decided to look around a bit and explore the town some more. First I went to the Sanctuary and found a huge surprise.
"Ilia!" She looked at me blankly.
"Ahh, do I know you?" Shocking, how can she not remember me? It hasn't been THAT long! I thought.
"Ilia, it's me Ayumi!"
"Oh, so you're Ayumi?" She definitely doesn't remember me.
"Don't take that as an insult Ayumi. She doesn't remember anything at the moment." I looked at the door and saw Renado standing there.
"What happened?"
"We don't know, but she seems to have lost her memory when she was kidnapped."
"So, Ayumi, do you know that swordsman Yoshimi?" Illia said, smiling.
"Yes, I do."
"That's lovely, he is such a nice person."
I nodded.
"How long have I been asleep, Renado?"
"About four days, I believe, Yoshimi had some business to take care of so he left. But somewhere along the way he found Ilia. She was taking care of a Zora boy inside a bar in Castle town and he brought them here. The poor boy was sick and was found far away from Zora's Domain."
Zora's Domain lies in the Lanaryu Province. It's far in the north, next to Snowpeak mountain and from the tales, it is a very beautiful place. It's also Hyrule's main source of water. The Upper Zora's River flows into the heart of Lake Hylia which is in the south of Lanaryu Province. The Zoras, or merfolk, live there. When I was little I remember my mother reading me tales of the Zoras and their way of life. They had a strong, beautiful, wise, and gentle Queen that watches over them. They have lived peacefully for many years.
"I see."
"That poor Zora boy, but thank goodness he's better now. I have you to thank for that, Renado." Sighed Ilia.
"Where is he now, Illia?" I asked her curiously.
"The last time I saw him, he was heading for the graveyard. He's been there for hours at a time, only coming out for supper each day."
"Why do you ask, Ayumi?" Asked Renado.
"Just wondering…" I left before they could ask me any more questions.
As soon as I left the sanctuary, I went around back into the graveyard. Kind of spooky… Oh! It's almost nighttime! A chill in the air made me shudder.
A crow called, and suddenly a Poe appeared on top of a gravestone. Poes are mischievous apparitions that appear only in the night. I haven't exactly seen one before, only heard about them from Rusl, who had much knowledge of the lands outside of Ordon. The ghost looked at me menacingly while brandishing a rather shiny, yet disturbingly sharp, scythe. It startled me by making a high-pitched shriek and started chasing me. I fled as far as I could to the other side of the graveyard.
I climbed up the short, crooked steps and arrived at a dead end. After cursing bitterly, I sighed. Wow, that was close. I thought.
I noticed a small tunnel in the cliff and just when it couldn't possibly get ANY worse, multiple crows started cawing and swarming. Avoiding the crow's sudden bombardment of peck attacks, I ran to the tunnel and crawled through. When I got to the other side, I looked around wildly, just daring some stupid monster to come attack me again.
"Yeah, you little shit heads, why don't you just come and have a go, huh? OH! You're too scared? OHO! Well, I guess I showed you little dimwitted freaks the power of the Stalking Tiger!! WAH!" I made some crazy karate pose and laughed so much that my sides hurt.
"Ow, Ow, Ow…" After regaining some common brains, I sighed in relief. To my amazement, I saw the young Zora boy beyond the deep watered pond at an ancient gravestone.
I swam across and when I got to the other side, I noticed that he looked pretty depressed. He didn't even notice me, until I put my hand on his shoulder. Such a young and innocent face… I thought when he looked at me.
"Hey there. What might your name be?"
"Ralis." He said wearily. He sounded as if he's been through a rough time.
"How come you're so far away from home, don't you live in the Zora's Domain up north?"
He looked down, and glared at the gravestone.
"It's ok if you don't want to talk about it." He was silent.
"I'll leave if you want me to." He was still silent, and when I turned to leave, I heard him mumble something.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" He hesitated, then said,
"No, don't leave…" I stopped in place then waited for him to say more, but he remained silent for nearly 10 minutes. Finally, he spoke.
"Our kingdom was under attack by the dark ones. Momma ordered me to escape to Hyrule Castle in order to warn Princess Zelda about what had occurred. Before I left, Zant, the king of Shadows, confronted my mother and father and executed them before our eyes.
"Momma wouldn't have wanted this event to stop me from informing Princess Zelda, so I continued..." Ralis looked down.
"But it seems that it all came in vain… Because when I arrived at the gate of Castle Town, I felt ill, and passed out. Then Ilia found me, and she tried to keep me in health. The doctor was ignorant and said he would never treat a Zora boy. The next thing I remember is being in a bed in the Inn."
"I'm so sorry…" I said. Even though he didn't mention it, it was obvious that his mother was the great Queen Rutela. The poor kid… he's too young to have witnessed all this. If only there was anything I could do to help.
"Don't be. It's not your fault. My mother always told me that fate always happened for a reason. So it must have been the Golden Goddesses' will for it to happen…" He looked away quickly, but not before I saw the tear roll down his cheek. He's trying so hard to be strong.
"Does this mean your next in line for the throne? Sorry, I'm asking too many questions." I smiled sheepishly.
He glared at me incredulously. An immediate thought rose into my head; The fear of failing his people, being too weak to defend. The thought was completely random, and threw me off balance.
"What?..."
"Nothing." He said, and looked back at the gravestone.
"Ralis, are you afraid that you won't live up to your mother? Not being a good leader? Of being weak?" He jerked his head up and looked into my eyes, "That's it isn't it?"
"I'm not strong enough…"
"Of course you are! I see potential in you. You will be great. You've just got to believe it."
"How can you see potential in me? I'm worthless!" I began to get frustrated.
"Ralis. Just trust me. I can see it in your eyes —"
"You're crazy."
"Just listen! You know what makes a good king? The ability to care for your people. Just the fact that you care for their lives. Maybe deep inside you really want to fight for them, and protect them from any harm. It's obvious in your words that you wouldn't want to risk their lives in any way, not even in your leadership. But trust me, when you get to that throne, I honestly think that this urge alone will encourage you to do whatever you can in order to preserve their safety." I took a deep breath.
"Do you understand now?..."
This time he really did cry openly. He fell down on the stone and sobbed uncontrollably. I sat down on my knees and he put his head on my lap. It was rather awkward to have a little kid I just met crying on my lap, but it didn't stop me from trying to soothe him.
After about five more minutes he calmed down. He just lay there silently for a while then finally got up. He rubbed his eyes, then looked down at the stone.
"You really do believe I can do it? Honestly, no doubt in mind?"
"Yes, I wouldn't have said it if it didn't mean anything."
"I think I can do it." The scene froze just then.
"Hello, Ayumi Yamashita." A beautiful voice said. Suddenly, a beautiful ghost of a Zora woman appeared in front of me. She had long wavy hair, and tiny jewels crowning her forehead. Her dress fit her shape perfectly and went all the way down to her feet.
"I'm guessing you're Ralis' mother." I said unconsciously. I stopped and thought, how the heck was I supposed to know that?
"You're insight is becoming stronger, yet…" She looked at me gravely, "You have a lot to learn in the ways of combat."
"Combat? You mean sword fighting?" I inhaled sharply. The thrill of adventure rushed back inside me and spread through my veins. It's exciting.
"Yes." She waved her hand once, and my sword and shield appeared in each hand. I looked at them carefully. The thrill became stronger, the urge to fight and defend. The power of it was overwhelming.
"Are you going to teach me how to do it?"
"Indeed, but it seems that deep inside you the knowledge is already there.
"How is that?"
"Do not ask questions now, young one, I will just give you a little jump in order to find that knowledge." She lifted her hand and it emitted a golden glow. There was something about it that mesmerized me. The light held my gaze, and a chain of random/unnecessary thoughts began to creep inside my head. Forcing me to become unaware of my surroundings. I tried to contain my focus but it was too hard, and my vision got hazy as I continued to stare at it. Something hard collided with my head, and I came to my senses. It seemed that along with Ralis being frozen, so was his Rutella.
"Ugh… What in the world is going on now?"
"I see that you're still being as ADD as you once were Steph."
I looked to my left. There was a young man sitting on the edge of the cliff.
"Excuse me? You aren't making any—"
"Sense? Well I'm here to trigger some memories, at least as much as I'm allowed to."
"Wait, first of all—"
"What is ADD? Uh, it's a chemical imbalance in your brain that causes you to have moments of daydreaming, bad short term memory, and a very short attention span (which people with ADD have the tendency to get distracted by shiny, sparkly, or otherwise eye catching objects).
"But—"
"Why did I call you Steph? Because that is what your name was in your other life. It's short for Stephanie…. Blah… blah… blah… blah blah…"
What a smartass. He was beginning to annoy me with whatever the heck he was doing to my head. How in the name of Farore would he know my thoughts. Who did this guy think he was anyways to barge in and start reading my freaking mind and stuff. Eck…
I stared at Ralis's mother. She's a very pretty lady. It's so sad that she had to be killed. I looked down at Ralis and sighed, unaware that whoever the freak was, was still babbling on. The poor kid… Another hard thing hit my head and I yelped. While rubbing the spot of impact, I noticed that Guy over yonder, threw a stupid rock at my head.
"What the heck was that for?" I glared at him viciously.
"You were daydreaming again, kitty cat." He glared back.
"…"
"And by the way, my name is Matt." What kind of a stupid name is—
"Stupid? Please! You're the one who gave me this name."
"ALRIGHT THAT'S IT BUDDY IF YOU DON'T STOP TRYING TO DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE DOING THEN I'M GOING TO—"
He sighed then said, "You're going to give yourself a headache, so take a moment and try to relax. I was about to explain what I'm trying to tell you." I guess I should have listened to Angela when she said not to read her thoughts out loud.
"Angela?..." He looked at me quickly and apparently surprised.
"Yeah, Angela, how did you…"
"Dunno, I heard your voice in my head saying 'I guess I should have listened to Angela when she said not to read her thoughts out loud'."
"Hmm, it seems that you are starting to receive some of your inner powers."
"Ooo!" I liked the sound of that, powers? That is so awesome! I listened eagerly.
He laughed.
"At least I have your attention now, but yes you have some powers that are stuck deep deep inside. The Powers that Be didn't have any clue on what they were but it seems that you have the ability to understand another's thoughts. Somewhere in your head, you also have the wisdom to understand complicated concepts."
I listened. There is something about this guy that seems very familiar.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm part of your conscience, or a muse that you created in your head when you lived the other life." He responded.
"Other life…" I was walking down some sort of hall with books in my arms, and a heavy load on my back. Finally entering a room containing children and a full grown woman. Strange devices were on the small tables they sat at. They all looked at me, and I apologized for being late. I sat down and pulled the same strange device and opened it. I tapped at the little squares with symbols on them while staring at a screen. I blinked twice.
"Woah, that was very weird."
"You just had a momentary flashback of what happened in your other life." He said, seriously. "That's the only thing I'm allowed to let you see though, because you have a lot of thinking to be done, sooner or later you'll forget again.
"I have to go, unfortunately."
"Will I still remember you?" I had just taken a liking to this Matt person, however annoying he is.
"Yes you will."
"Good." He laughed again.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing haha."
"Okay then…"
"See you later Steph, or Ayumi."
"Goodbye uhhh, Matt." He disappeared. I looked at the Zora woman who wasn't frozen any more. The golden light caught my eye again, and finally it shot inside of me. I picked up the sword that I must have dropped and stared at it again for a second then sliced at closest tree. It split entirely in half.
She smiled, "You are a very powerful young lady."
I didn't say anything.
"Thank you so much for helping my Ralis find his courage, he is truly going to be a great king. I have to go now, take care Ayumi Yamashita."
"Goodbye…" She disappeared.
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my side.
"OH!" I yelped in surprise. Gripping it tightly, I fell on my knees and gasped for breath. Blood seemed to be seeping from the wound, "What the…"
"Ayumi! What happened?!" Said Ralis startled.
"Good question," I said, flinching after another sting pierced my side again, then finally went away. My shirt was sodden with blood, the smell of it was nauseating. "Eck."
"Are you ok?" I nodded, but the truth was, I was getting dizzy.
"Shouldn't you get to bed, Ralis? By the look of the moon, it's passed midnight." He sighed.
"I guess." He murmured.
"You want me to walk you to the inn?"
"Sure." He said.
We walked passed the grave yard, avoiding the Poe with ease (it was occupied by bouncing, to our amusement, quickly back and forth on a couple of trees, laughing it's head off in crazed hysterics). We walked in silence, all the way to the Inn. At the door, he finally asked,
"Hey, how did you get the sword and shield?
"Oh these? I've always had them." Something told me to lie.
"Oh, I see…" I smiled warmly then opened the door.
"After you, my lord?" He grinned.
"Why thank you." He strode gracefully inside. Ilia, Talo, Malo, Beth and Colin immediately surrounded Ralis and started jabbering away excitedly about the days events. I snuck around them and climbed the stairs to get ready for bed. So many thoughts came to mind bringing with them unobtainable answers.
I was grateful that Ralis was better, of course. But something else happened, something I had forgotten. The word Matt popped up but that only made me more confused. As I undressed I looked at myself in the mirror, at the source of where the pain occurred. It seemed like some invisible sword had slashed my side, as I brushed my finger gingerly along the long cut that ran slightly slanted along my right side and waist. I threw my shirt in the corner basket and put on fresh bed clothes. After crawling into bed, I came to a conclusion.
Something very bad was to come in the near future. Whatever it was…
I laid on my back on the soft feather mattress, closed my eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep. Shadows emerged and swallowed my dreams while a corrupt, and evil laughter echoed in my ears.