Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour
By JoeMoron2000 (Gabriel B)
Chapter Twelve: The Reunion of the Beloved
It had started out innocently enough, as usual, but all too often, it escalated. Now was part of that 'often', and he was helpless to stop it.
The four of them had been quiet for a good five minutes, looking at various things, such as the Gossip Stones or the market or the plants, but nothing really captured their attention. And so Nabooru grew bored. Darunia later reflected that it was never a good thing when someone got bored, least of all Nabooru. But it wasn't until something set her off that her short temper would be released.
As Darunia realized again, rightly so, it would be Ruto who would make the offending remark, and an explosion of shouting would doubtlessly ensue. His imposing figure and authoritative demeanour could only quiet them so many times, and they ran out fairly quickly when they first arrived in the Sacred Realm. Darunia knew that it would be his job to restrain Nabooru and Saria's job to ease Ruto, but only Impa or Rauru could truly put an end to the fighting. Obviously, neither of them was nearby, and so havoc ensued.
Saria was lying in a patch of grass, and Ruto was sitting with her feet in the water, head laid back next to Saria, and both of them were gazing up at the clouds, each thinking to themselves. Ruto broke the silence with a sigh and Darunia closed his eyes, waiting for it. "Why did Impa get to go shopping instead of me?" Ruto asked with a definite pout in her voice, and Nabooru turned to look at her. "I mean, why does that guy, Hyre, get to decide who goes where and does what?" She turned her head and looked at Saria, who looked back at her.
"Who knows why that guy does anything," she said with a shrug and returned to looking at the sky, probably thinking about Link, judging by the joy on her face. Ruto, however, sat up and flopped her feet out of the pond.
"Yeah, but it's not fair that Impa gets to go, uh, see… people before we do..." she finished awkwardly. Perhaps she wasn't going to set Nabooru off, after all, and Darunia relaxed. There was a short pause before: "Damnit, I wanted to go!" she finally burst, whining.
There we go, Darunia thought wistfully, and he and Saria braced themselves.
"Well, excuse me, Princess!" Nabooru shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, "you wanted to go shopping! The rest of us are sitting here quietly, waiting for something to do, but you've already decided what you're going to do – shop!"
Ruto stood up, and without a moment's hesitation, took the bait and retorted. "So what if I do, miss High-Class Gerudo Thief? At least I got what I have through honest means! Where did you get that –" she trailed off, and realized that there wasn't anything particularly valuable that Nabooru was wearing, but it was too late. Nabooru made to lunge at Ruto, but Darunia got in the way, and her fist hit the Goron's rock-hard skin with a thud.
"Come on, Nabooru," Saria pleaded, having been dragged into the disaster, "she's just itching to go home and see her family and friends again, just like everyone here is. You, of all of us, should sympathize with that the most – it's been ten years for you since you've been home, right?"
Nabooru turned her fury on her. "If I recall correctly, it's been the same for you!" Saria paused, and then nodded, and Nabooru said, "Except that you, unlike me, were awake for most of it!"
"Well, yeah, but… wait, what?" Saria said, now confused. "First of all, that argument doesn't even make sense, and second of all, you completely missed the point of that!" she shouted, waving her arms wildly, and stormed off behind Ruto.
Darunia turned to the Water Sage, who was standing with her arms crossed, pointedly looking away from Nabooru. "Don't you think you've been completely innocent in this, Ruto," he said to her, and she responded by turning her back to him completely, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Moblin'. Darunia continued, "At the very least, you could think before you say something around Nab! You know how short of a temper – aargh!"
He broke off as a well-placed kick hit him squarely in the back of the head and toppled him forward with a crash. Nabooru dove off his back at Ruto, fists bared and screamed, "What did you call me?", but the Zora girl was ready, and the water next to her started bubbling. Saria, realizing the danger, ran for cover, but it was too late for Nabooru. The moment she landed on Ruto's back, there was an eruption as a geyser shot from the ground where the Sage of Water had just been.
But Nabooru wasn't ready to give up yet. As Darunia lifted his very wet, aching head from the ground, he was met with two startling sights. The first was the absence of Ruto and the pillar of water in her place, and the second was that Nabooru seemed to be wrestling with the water, and appeared to be holding her own in the struggle.
"I've got you, damnit! You're not getting off that easily!" she yelled, tightening her grip on a darker blue spot within the geyser head, which seemed to grow slowly. Around it, the water started to recede and the dark blue spot within assumed the familiar shape of Ruto.
With a last splash, Nabooru hit the ground, surprisingly dry. "What just –" Ruto started, looked at her hands and arms in surprise, but soon was looking at Nabooru's foot colliding with her face. Ruto flipped back in an almost graceful arc, and Saria gasped as she fell, chest-down, on one of the Gossip Stones. Nabooru landed cleanly and, with a battle cry that even inspired fear in Darunia, immediately hurtled forward to continue her assault. Her speed and manoeuvrability far outstripped what Darunia could manage, so he stood in place, waiting for a chance to grab Nabooru. I rather preferred it when they were just shouting at each other, Darunia thought to himself sadly.
Saria ran to her friend, but Nabooru got there first. To Darunia's and Saria's relief, Ruto pushed herself up from the stone, and brushed some dust off herself, just in time for Nabooru to grab Ruto's arm, set her feet in place, and yank. She met with surprise, however, when her hands easily slid off Ruto's arm. She looked at her hands, then back at Ruto. "Zora skin," Ruto said, with fury etched in her face, and delivered a solid punch to Nabooru's nose.
"Now," Darunia roared, and he thundered forward to grab Nabooru, but was again too slow, as Nabooru charged forward. Saria had lunged at Ruto, but her skin was still oozing, and she couldn't get a firm grasp on anything, instead falling down.
Nabooru's uppercut collided with Ruto's chin, shouting, "That's for calling me a Moblin!", but Ruto was ready. She grabbed a fistful of the Gerudo's robes, swept a foot under Nabooru's legs, and threw her to the ground, and followed up by attempting to stomp on her. Instead, Nabooru grabbed Ruto's planted foot and pulled, and Ruto came crashing down, narrowly missing the Gossip Stone.
Nabooru scrambled to get to her feet, but the Zora princess flopped herself upright, landing squarely on Nabooru's stomach. "And that's for calling me dinner earlier!" she said with a smile, and bent down to taunt her foe, which proved to be a mistake. Seizing the opportunity, and Ruto's throat, she forced the woman off her abdomen and, standing up, backed her against the fence. Ruto waved her arms around madly, and managed to find Nabooru's throat as well.
"Stuck up… immature… Zora… princess," Nabooru gasped angrily, and tried twisting her elbow around Ruto's neck, but found that Ruto's arm was surprisingly well-placed.
"Impatient, conniving… Gerudo… brat," sputtered Ruto, flailing a leg at her foe's foot, but missing fantastically. Saria managed to grasp her friend by the ankle and started poking her leg, trying to divert her attention, but Ruto would have none of it. Meanwhile, Darunia tried a less physical approach to calming Nabooru, and decided to warn her of what Impa would think of things if she were here.
"She would tell you to stop, first of all," he said, amidst the flying insults. "She would also have you running for cover – how does she get you to calm down and I can't?!" Darunia shouted, frustrated, and Saria hung her head at his complete lack of progress.
"You can kill each other later, Iketh," Saria said, and Darunia looked up. Hyre and Impa were approaching them, apparently engaged in their own conversation. Saria tried to stand up, missed, and bumped into Ruto, who knocked into Nabooru, and the pair fell over.
"What do you mean 'What difference does it make'?!" Impa shouted, and Nabooru and Ruto turned their attention the new argument that was forming elsewhere, their own squabble forgotten.
"Perhaps that was the wrong choice of words," Hyre said, with his hands in front of him as though he was waiting for Impa to attack him. "I simply meant that… how I know is not nearly as important as that I know."
Impa motioned with her hands just how she would like to strangle Hyre, who took a cautious step back. "Why is it," Impa began calmly, "that whenever we ask a question of you, you hide behind a shield of words and mysteries, but Nayru forbid you ask something of us, we have to bend over backwards to accommodate you?" Her voice had risen to a shout by the end. Hyre ran a nervous hand through his hair, as if to check that it was still there, rather than having been burned off by Impa's anger.
Slowly, Darunia shuffled forward, and the others followed him. He saw some backpacks on Hyre's shoulder, but that was it – nothing that was the basis of the argument.
"Madam Impa, I know you think I want to tell you nothing, and to some extent, you are right. However," Hyre said, and paused, trying to find better words, "there are… other circumstances. I… there… can you keep a secret?" he said, eyeing the approaching Goron. Impa nodded cautiously, and she and Hyre turned their backs toward the other Sages. He spoke in a whisper, ensuring that the eavesdropping Sages couldn't hear their conversation.
"What do you think he's saying?" Ruto asked quietly, but Nabooru clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She put a finger to her lips, reinforcing the message, and Ruto nodded, and watched in silence.
Impa appeared to be rather confused, and after she shook her head for the third time in the first minute of the conversation, Darunia began to wonder just what was going on. But after a moment, Impa said loudly, "Alright, I'll accept that under one condition." Hyre turned to look at her better, and they could see Hyre's raised eyebrows, clearly asking what it was. "I want to meet them. I want to know you saw them today."
Hyre looked thoughtful for a moment, before he said, "I suppose I can arrange that…" Without turning away from Impa, he beckoned the other sages to come, knowing that they were listening.
"What did they say?" Saria whispered to Nabooru, reflecting the group's thoughts. "What was so secret that they couldn't tell us about it?"
Nabooru put a finger to her lips, and said, "I'll tell you later."
"You're kidding! You're the Oracles?" Malon said enthusiastically through the doorway, almost overturning the farina bowl in excitement.
There was a bit of silence in the kitchen, followed by a clattering of plates as Malon carried out reheated breakfast for the women. She set out a bowl for each, a large pitcher of milk, and served them all generous portions of food, to the point where Farore said, "That – that'll be enough, thanks."
Malon realized she'd almost overflowed the bowls, and turned a bright red. "I'm sorry," she said, flustered, and tried to sit down, but missed the chair and started panicking. Nayru caught her by the arm, and helped her to her feet.
"Calm down; take deep breaths," Nayru suggested, and after a minute, the flushing in Malon's face began to recede, and she was able to locate and properly use a chair.
"I'm sorry," she said again, and Nayru smiled.
"It's okay, we get that a lot, and it's always nice to meet someone who enjoys your work."
Farore looked at the steaming pile of oats in her bowl, and her stomach growled. The 'farina' didn't look like the most appetizing thing she'd eaten, and it certainly wasn't her preferred toast with eggs, but dinner had been a long time ago… She took a small spoonful and tasted it, and was met with a delightful mixture of wheat, honey, and water.
"Wow, this is ac – I mean it's delicious," she said, catching herself before she misspoke. "Did you make this yourself?" Farore added in an attempt to change the focus of her sentence.
"What – oh," Malon said, and Farore realized that she probably didn't even notice, anyway. "Yeah, I'm the one who makes breakfast and lunch, because I've got the morning shifts. I'm glad you like it!" She smiled, and Farore got the strange feeling that she'd seen that smile hundreds of times before, but on someone else.
"Hey, could you pass the milk, Far?" Din asked, as if on cue, and Farore tore her gaze away from Malon, and obliged. Din looked up from her notebook long enough to pour herself another glassful before returning to her scribbling, and occasional mouthfuls of oats.
There was a creak from behind Nayru, followed by a slow shuffling noise, as someone entered the inn. "What the tarnation time is it, Malon?" asked a raspy voice from a man who was clearly still sleeping. He was about Farore's own height, but with a scraggly beard and black hair. The man was wearing hastily-donned suspenders over his pyjamas, and didn't seem to notice that he was wearing only a single shoe – on the wrong foot, at that. Farore noticed Din turn a bright red, and when the man walked past them into the kitchen, she caught the glass of milk that her sister's twitching hand knocked over. Din and Malon were even ditzy like each other – had Farore not known her sister's secret, she felt it would still be very difficult to ignore the evidence presenting itself here…
"It's almost noon, Father!" Malon said, and picked up a napkin to help clean the slight spill. "And try and wake up, please; we have guests now." She lowered her voice to speak to the women. "As you heard, that's my father, Talon. Don't tell him I said this, but he's a pretty lazy guy in the mornings, and usually doesn't get out of bed until now, but he still pours his heart into this place, and it wouldn't have a chance at surviving without him."
"Guests, you say?" Talon said, and hobbled out of the kitchen rubbing his eyes. He looked at Farore, who gave him a weak smile, and returned it with an equally awkward grin of his own. "Pardon my appearance, folks," he said sheepishly, "we're not used to seeing travellers 'round here any – galloping gargoyles!"
He stared directly at Din, and from the look of shock he wore, it was fairly obvious that he recognized her.
Farore's awkward feelings became glee; she turned her chair to get a better look at Talon's expression, and saw Din hastily shove her bowl to the side and bury her face in her arms. Nayru, however, frowned as she looked between Talon and Din, as if frustrated that it had come to this. And Malon was simply standing there, mid-swab, confused as to what was happening.
A moment passed, and Din snuck a glance out from under her elbow, and, upon seeing all four of the others staring at her, went back to hiding.
"You… you're alive!" Talon said, dumbfounded. Oh, come on, you can do better than that, Farore thought to herself, but was startled when she felt a surge of anger erupting from within the rancher. "You monster, you're still alive!" he said, and slammed his hand down on the table, making Farore jump. This certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Nayru, however, felt differently, as she shook her head and strained to return her attention to breakfast.
Din, realized that there was no getting out of this, and pulled her arms off her head and stood up. It took her a few moments to realize that he was furious, rather than pleased, by this news. She responded by saying, in a very manner-of-fact voice, "Would you rather I weren't, Talon?"
Malon shook her head and cleared her throat. She abandoned the spilled milk, walked around Nayru, and grabbed her father's arm. "Please excuse Father's outburst," she said with a scowl, and tugged, but Talon didn't move. "He's still twelve, it seems." Malon shot the man a glare as she said this, but her father shook her off, barely glancing at his daughter.
"Do you realize how long I've had to do everything on my own because of your cowardice?" he roared across the table, and Din stepped back. Before she could answer, he continued, "Fifteen years, that's how long!"
"I'm sorry, I –" she started, but Talon's rage cut her off.
"Oh, I'm sure you're sorry," he mocked, and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you're so upset about missing all of the aggravation I've had to deal with as a single parent!"
Slowly, it dawned on Malon just why her father was so incensed and she gasped. "Father, stop it, please!" she said, and grabbed his arm again, but Talon shoved her away.
Farore stood up to protest, but Nayru, looking up for the first time since the foray began, said, "Stay out of this, Farore; this is not your argument."
But she'd had enough of these old wounds tearing open, especially just before their performance. If this kept going much longer, it would start getting physical, and any injuries Din would sustain wouldn't heal by the performance the following evening. Not to mention the likelihood that our insurance would skyrocket, she added as an afterthought. Farore mustered up the courage to stand up to her sister, and, shouting over Talon's angry remarks, retorted with, "Listen, Ny, just because we didn't marry him doesn't mean this doesn't affect us!"
The room fell into silence, save for Talon's heavy breathing. Talon's anger seemed to subside a little, and he turned to look at his daughter. Malon looked at Farore, then at Din, then at her father, and, for good measure, at Nayru. Din looked at Farore, with her mouth hanging open, and then looked at Malon, trying to judge whether or not she'd made the connection. Nayru slowly put down her spoon and closed her eyes, but Farore knew what she was thinking: "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen." Everyone looked at everyone else, but none of them spoke, not wanting to be the one to break the silence. Even the wind outside faded, as if one stray noise would create an explosion.
At last, once enough time passed that it would be hard for anyone not to have realized what Farore meant, Din stepped forward. Farore gave her a look that clearly said Give me your best shot.
She spoke quietly, but the temper in her voice was obvious. "I can't believe you just did that to me, Farore. I told you not to… I told you that that was the one thing that you absolutely cannot let her know, and, less than an hour after we get here, what do you do? You go and say it when she's five feet away!"
Farore was about to protest, but Malon took issue with this. "Wait, why didn't you want me to know you … you were my m-mother?" she asked, visibly offended. Din tensed up at that last word, and was about to try and answer when Farore interjected.
"More pressing, however, is just when you figured it out, dear." Farore's voice was sweet, yet insistent, and she saw Nayru's hard expression of irritation soften into one of curiosity. But Farore smiled slightly, for she already knew the answer.
Malon turned to look at Farore. "Father… Father said…" she paused trying to remember exactly what he'd said. "He said something about doing 'it' alone for fifteen years, but I've been here for almost nineteen, and before me, my mother was here, and then I realized that Mother left about fifteen years ago, too. That, and when I saw Din this morning, she seemed so familiar, plus my dad almost never gets mad, and when he does, it's usually for my own good…" She trailed off, and gave Talon a smile, who gladly returned it. "Oh!" she said, and her eyes grew wide. She looked past her father at Farore again, and sputtered, "That's what you – I get it n—that's why – oh!"
"Honey, coherency would be helpful," Farore suggested.
"S—sorry, I just put a bunch of things together, now this all makes sense to me. To answer your question, it was when Father was yelling about the responsibilities that Mother left to him. It wasn't because of what you said."
Farore smiled at her, then at her sisters. Nayru seemed slightly relieved, but Din was still nervous, as she looked awkwardly at her daughter.
"I'm sorry," said Din quietly, and looked away before Malon could make eye contact. She backed against the wall, and spoke with a definite wavering in her voice. "I'm so sorry that I – well, I'm sorry that I left, first of all. I promised myself it would just be the one time, but it was such a success…"
Farore remembered the look on their manager's face when he'd gotten news of their popularity. He had told them that they were already on their way to becoming famous; all they needed was to travel. She remembered how Nayru had warned that Din's daughter was waiting back in Hyrule, but the allure of enough money to raise Malon without worrying about the cost of schooling got the best of her, and that she would do "just one more." But time went on, and her motives changed. Soon, almost a year had passed, and Malon's birthday was rapidly approaching, but she'd spent so much time away from family that they might not forgive her absence. Instead of returning, as she ought to have done, she'd arranged for a friend to stop by on a 'business trip' to make a purchase, and 'accidentally' leave behind a rather valuable opal. Subsequent years featured more conventional methods of delivery – postman or bird, if she wanted to be secret – but the concept always remained the same; anonymously give her daughter a birthday gift, with the unspoken promise that next year, it would be her mother. Farore tuned back into the conversation as Din ended her version of events, and had moved onto why she'd tried to hide that she was Malon's mother.
"…but my sisters had never met you before, so they didn't recognize the name of the Ranch. And I was so busy with my notes, that I didn't realize where we were going. But once I did, and I knew that you didn't recognize my name, I tried to hide it. Then I remembered what the first 'Lon' in 'Lon Lon Ranch' meant…" Something Din just said struck Farore as extremely off. She felt something stirring inside Talon, and she saw him look away, embarrassed.
"Yes, I'm hurt that you left, but you're my mother; I can learn to forgive you, if you stay. But… wait a moment," Malon said with a frown. "I didn't recognize your name – other than, of course, being one of the Goddesses. I thought you were using that name as a… what's the word… palindrome? No, wait, that's a word that's itself but backwards…"
"I think you mean 'pseudonym'," Din offered helpfully.
Malon nodded, and continued, "Yeah, that's the one. I thought you were using the name 'Din' as a pseudonym, because; well, for two reasons, actually. First, I'm surprised someone would be so bold as to name their children after the Goddesses. Second, which is my actual reason, is because you," she turned to her father as she stressed this word, "always told me my mother's name was Aryll."
Nayru looked up at this, and the three sisters shared a curious look. For the first time since the argument had started, she spoke, saying, "That was our mother's name..."
Farore looked at Talon, who lowered his head shamefully. "I'm sorry, Malon," he said quietly, and looked at his daughter. "I wanted to… I wanted to stop you from looking for her. I thought that… that if you didn't know your mother's real name, you couldn't go looking for her, so I told you it was Aryll…"
"It's okay, Father," Malon said with a large sigh, and hugged Talon. She put her shoulder under her father's head for support, and said, "You were just trying to protect me, and I'll always love you for that." She broke the embrace and looked straight at her father. "That being said; don't ever keep something important like this from me!"
If it weren't for the fact that he's obviously much older than she is, I'd never guess that he's the parent, Farore reflected in amusement.
There was a low grumbling sound from the direction of Malon and Talon. Malon, still hugging her father, looked down and realized that it was her father's stomach, and promptly apologized. "I'll go reheat the farina," she said, picked up the no-longer-warm bowl, and hurried back into the kitchen. Her father, after a brief, awkward glance at Din, followed her.
Din gave him a half-hearted grin, and stood up when he left the room. She mumbled, "I'm going to get some fresh air," picked up her notebook, and headed outside.
Farore looked at Nayru, who simply shrugged, and followed her. She heard the scraping of her sister's chair, followed by her voice, saying, "We'll be outside, but I wanted to thank you, on behalf of all of us, for breakfast, despite what just transpired."
As she stepped outside, the bright sun made Farore realize that they had already been up and active for hours, and had only just had a solid meal. And now, with her mind focused by the new fuel in her system, she noticed the interior of the ranch for what it was: beautiful. Sure, she'd have preferred not to notice the smell of horses, but it gave the place a less industrial feel. The smell of the horses was accompanied by the sound of hooves and whinnying. These, in turn, were coupled with the sight of an actual herd of horses in a large field, sectioned off by a wrought iron gate. There were only three 'buildings' that she noticed: two on either side of the main road, and one on the far side of the ranch. The ground was soft underneath her sandals, and was heavily laden with flowers. Farore took a deep breath and felt as though here, she could relax.
She found Din sitting on a bench overlooking the horses' field, with the songbook closed at her side. She had her head in her hands, and was making a grumbling noise into her palms.
"Cheer up, Din," Farore said, trying to be helpful, and sat down next to her older sister. Nayru followed behind and sat on the arm of the bench. Farore continued, "You heard her, she's not angry at you, just rather upset that you left. We can still give Malon her best gift yet! So what if she knows that you're her mother this time? Just think about how much more special she'll feel knowing that you're doing this for her!"
Din sighed, propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head, now watching the horses. "I suppose you're right, but it just feels awkward now, doesn't it?" she said.
"Time will pass, and things will get better; just you wait," Farore said, winking. "Just don't be a dunce around your daughter and it'll all work out."
"I guess, but you're not completely free from blame, yourself, Far. You have to stop doing that!"
"Doing what?" Farore asked innocently, with a sweet smile.
"Knowing things before the rest of us," said Din, and lightly punched her younger sister in the arm.
"Hah, you know I can't help it, Ruckus," answered Farore, who shoved Din away.
Nayru smiled, and Farore leaned back, resting her head on the top of the bench. While the morning hadn't exactly gone the way she'd expected, it seemed like the worst of it had passed. The next few days would be difficult, but they could manage it. As Farore looked, upside-down, down the road to the entrance, the only thing wrong she could see, other than storm clouds looming in the distance, was the owl, looking directly at her.
"For the record, you need to work on your stealth act," Hyre said as he turned to face the Sages. "You aren't exactly the most camouflaged batch of people…" Darunia avoided his gaze, and decided to look at Nabooru, instead. "Alright, sorry about the delay," he continued, and Darunia looked back. "As I said before, your luggage isn't in the most travel-friendly carriers – well, Saria's and Nabooru's are, but the rest of you, not so much. Saria, could you bring Impa's, erm, box, please? Darunia and Ruto, I have bags for the two of you that should be able to hold all of your belongings – Impa has her own already – and I have umbrellas for those who do not wish to be rained on this afternoon."
"Bring it on, I say!" Ruto said defiantly, and refused an umbrella. She and Darunia each took a bag, and emptied the contents of their unfriendly-shaped containers into a bag. Ruto looked sadly at her laundry basket, and wondered if she could fit it, too into the bag. Darunia, however, tossed his stone basin to the side, slid the shoulder straps on his back, and was done with it.
"I'm glad you brought it with you," Saria said to Impa as she handed the box of possessions to the Sage of Shadow.
"What – oh, you mean the… the robe," Impa said distractedly. "It was beautiful craftsmanship, so I could hardly leave it there." Saria smiled at the compliment. Darunia watched Impa emptying the wooden box, and thought about the robe Saria had made for him, now tucked away tightly in his new bag.
His musings were interrupted by the once-again impatient Nabooru tapping her foot, staring at Hyre with her arms crossed. The moment Impa buckled her bag shut and lifted it onto her shoulder, she blurted: "Can we go yet?"
Hyre's grin grew maniacally, and he clapped his hands together. "I thought you'd never ask," he said, and twirled around on a heel, his cloak flapping behind him. Saria looked at Ruto, who shrugged, gave one forlorn look at her basket, and followed him.
Darunia thought to himself, so this is really happening, isn't it? For three years, the five of them – Rauru excluded – had hoped and prayed to the Goddesses that they could be allowed to return to their homes, but none of them truly expected it would be. In fact, they'd even started to settle down there, and give themselves the illusion of a nice place to live. They'd all pitched in to create their Garden of Tranquillity, and Ruto had even created an aquarium of sorts around herself. Saria filled her room with trees and shrubberies and the like, while Nabooru covered her floors with sands and cacti. Rauru, years and years ago, had erected a citadel of light, with twenty-foot high windows gathering as much sunlight as possible, while Impa had shut herself in, the only source of light being candles. Darunia, in the true fashion of the Gorons, carved his own room by himself, out of a giant boulder.
But while they expected never to return to their lives back in Hyrule, none of them sat idly by and just watched; no, they were people of action, and the day-to-day inaction would have surely killed them. The first ideas came from the Dynamic Duo – Ruto and Saria, for whom it took two weeks for a friendship to be built. After the four month project of constructing a garden was finally completed, Saria expressed a desire to do something 'real' and 'more incredible', as if what they'd just done hadn't been incredible enough. After another month, the two of them started giggling uncontrollably every time they saw each other, and when Impa finally asked what they did, Saria responded by saying that they 'made a tree; a really big tree' in the middle of Lake Hylia. Even Rauru apparently hadn't realized the kind of influence they could have on the world, and the Sages returned to their duties with a renewed vigour and purpose.
Progress of any kind had started slowly, but soon, the Sages developed a kind of control over more than just emergency situations. Darunia realized, and he assumed the others came to the same conclusion, that while he may not be able to be there in person, he was surely there in spirit, and could guide and develop his people to fulfil their true potential.
Darunia's stomach tightened as he realized that, in just a few short hours, he would be reunited with his people, his two-year project, and his son. The Goron heir, Link, named for the Hero of Time himself, would be nine years old now – almost old enough to inherit the throne. The Sage of Fire shook his head and realized that there were things that are more important at the moment, like finding the actual Hero of Time.
Slowly, he heard the low chatter of people talking, and it unnerved him. He noticed the others shift uncomfortably, as they, too, felt the strangeness, but Hyre seemed not to feel anything. Saria shuffled herself behind Ruto, and peered out at the townsfolk going about their daily lives. Every once in a while, someone would glance over at them, and give the Sages an odd look. At the sight of Nabooru, the townsperson would hurry the other way, eager to avoid her.
"I'm getting the feeling that they don't like me," she said after a family of four nearly fell over themselves to get out of the way.
"It's not your fault; Zelda's Gerudo guardsmen haven't been too friendly since Ganondorf's reign," Hyre said vaguely.
"Well, gee, that makes me feel a lot better, thanks," Nabooru muttered, but Hyre chose not to respond.
They found a large fountain in the centre of a plaza, with a plaque reading in ancient Hylian. Underneath, it bore the modern translation, "Castle Town: To Strength, To Wisdom, and To Courage", with the Hylian Crest engraved at the bottom.
Hyre turned to the Sages, and said, "Under normal circumstances, I'd be giving you the grand tour of the kingdom, but with the situation as it is, I'm afraid you'll be getting the abridged version. This is Castle Town Market, but we really must be going."
As Hyre lead them down yet another street, Darunia asked Impa, "What's the first thing that you're going to do when you get home?"
Without hesitating, as if she'd planned out the rest of her day, Impa said, "There are some Gossip Stones that I must ask, and then I'll talk to the citizens. Someone's bound to have heard something about him. Why, what are you going to do?"
As they reached the end of the street, they were met with a gust of cool air from the left. Darunia covered his face with an arm, and when the wind died down, saw that it was coming from a lowered drawbridge forty yards away. Beyond it was a beautiful field – Hyrule Field. Impa sighed, and Darunia saw a smile across her face – the sight of such a familiar and unchanged place filled her with warmth that would only be surpassed by her return home.
The six companions hurried – almost running – to the drawbridge, but were stopped by a guard, who held out a hand. "That's quite a fellowship you have there, Madam," the guard said to Impa. "I don't want to interrupt you, because you appear to be in a hurry, but may I ask what business you had in Castle Town?" Hyre hurried forward, but Impa held out a hand of her own to stop him.
"I was giving my friends a tour," she blurted out after a pause. It's been such a long time since we've last been in Hyrule, and we finally got enough money and time off to come visit again."
The guard nodded wearily, and looked at Saria, who looked nothing like either Impa or Hyre, the only two people who could have been her parents. "And this little girl is your… daughter?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Saria made to protest being called 'little girl', but Hyre put a hand over her mouth and said, "Niece. She's my niece – and we're not married," he said, indicating himself and Impa.
The guard nodded slowly, and after a pause that clearly indicated he didn't believe them, said, "Right. Move along, then, and don't go causing any trouble. It's rough enough here as it is without you lot." Impa and Hyre smiled at him, and ushered the struggling girl over the drawbridge and into the field.
When they were finally out of earshot, Saria pushed Hyre's hand away from her mouth, and said, "Why did you stop me? You're so insistent on being right all the time, so why couldn't you tell him that I'm not a little girl?"
"They're not too fond of your forest; imagine what they must think of you, someone who lives in it. Sometimes, just letting them be wrong is easier than trying to convince them you're right." Saria seemed to dislike this answer, but accepted it nonetheless.
Guided by Hyre, the Sages continued in silence. Darunia wondered where they were going, as Death Mountain, and thus Kakariko Village, was in another direction entirely. After a while, he noticed that they seemed to be roughly following some tracks, off to the right, but Hyre didn't appear to be looking at them; they apparently coincided with his path. Once or twice, he considered voicing his confusion, but was interrupted as they stopped abruptly in front of a large, old oak tree.
"What's this?" Saria said, and looked at the large tree. It seemed withering, and Saria placed a hand on it. Some life slowly seeped back into its branches, but the leaves continued to colour and fall, as winter was rapidly approaching.
"This, Miss Saria, would be what I call home. Alright, this'll be quick," Hyre said, looking up. Jumping up and grabbing one of the lower, now-springy branches, Hyre expertly crawled – for there was no better way to describe it – the side of the tree, and disappeared into its leaves. They heard some rattling, and Impa peered up to see what was going on. "Look out," said Hyre's voice, and a falling backpack and accompanying duffle narrowly missed breaking Impa's nose. There was a pause, and Hyre said, "There you are—no!"
Something else fell out of the tree, followed closely by Hyre's head and arms, upside-down, chasing after it, before – "Gotcha!" Hyre dangled in place, legs wrapped tightly around a branch. He was holding on to an egg-shaped piece of wood, with holes carved into the side and into the top. Hyre swung his arms in place, before lightly tossing the object onto one of his bags, where it landed with a soft plop.
As he began his slow descent, Saria looked at the thing Hyre dropped with curiosity. She picked it up and looked at it from various angles, before saying, "Oh, now I recognize it! You had this thing in your… I don't even know what to call it… memory, I guess."
Now that Saria pointed it out, Darunia admitted that it did look slightly familiar, but he was never that good with instruments himself. That wasn't to say he wasn't a fan of music – quite the contrary, actually; he'd just never learned anything about making it. "What is it?" he asked, simply.
Saria shrugged, found what appeared to be the mouthpiece, and put her lips to it. She blew into it, and it produced a low note. Saria frowned, and said that it was too low for her tastes.
Hyre finally returned from his escapade into the tree, and took the instrument back from Saria. "It's called a xun, by the way, and it's been my instrument of choice for as long as I can remember."
"So we came here to get your xun?" Impa asked, impatient.
"Gosh, no," Hyre said, shaking his head. He pocketed his xun, hoisted his bag onto his bag, and picked up the duffle. "When I left to find you this morning, I was in a bit of a hurry, and left my belongings here." There was a short pause as everyone looked at Hyre, waiting for his directions. Noticing this, he spoke, "So, about that semi-teleporting thing you guys can do – one, can you use it to get to the Lon Lon Ranch, and two, can I hitch a lift?"
Darunia said, "I don't know where this ranch is, but if someone leads the way, I think we can take one extra. Do you know the way, Impa?" The Sheikah nodded, and Darunia said to Hyre, "Hold on tight, sir," and then grabbed his arm.
Hyre's cry of "To what?" was drowned out as he and the Sage of Fire disappeared, to be replaced by a shimmering orb of red light. The other four sages, too, vanished, with their respective spheres of colour taking their places. And off they went…
"Why is there an owl here?" Farore asked, pointing at it, with her head still upside-down
"Why not, Far?" Din asked, without turning around. "Why can't owls stop to rest here, too?"
"You idiot," Farore said, lightly punching Din on the arm, "owls are nocturnal animals. It's the middle of the day. And, call me paranoid, but I think it's looking at us."
"You're paranoid," Din said, and continued not looking at the owl. "Maybe your blood's just rushing to your head."
The owl tilted its head and blinked, and Farore picked her head up from over the bench.
There was some faint talking from unfamiliar voices behind them, and this time, Din turned around. Indeed, there was an owl sitting atop the large welcome sign.
Shuffling in through the entrance was the most peculiar entourage Farore had witnessed aside from a concert. There were six of them – a Zora, a Goron, a Gerudo, and what seemed to be three Hylians. The Hylian male seemed vaguely familiar.
"Good different or bad different?" asked the tall, greying woman to her friend.
The man responded, "Just different, I guess. I'm certainly not used to that sort of travel."
As the man looked down the road at them, she saw his face, and immediately recognized him…
"Are we there yet?"
"Shut up, Far."
"C'mon it's a simple question!"
"No, we're not there yet, we just started walking."
"How much further is it, then?"
Din stopped walking in irritation, and Nayru glanced over her shoulder, giggling. "Will you grow up, Far?" Din asked angrily, and Farore frowned.
"What's wrong with not wanting to walk this ridiculous distance?" she retorted, following after their sister.
Farore was right; the three women had been walking for days, at Nayru's insistence, and it had certainly been an experience to remember. At least, their legs certainly wouldn't forget any time soon.
"It's not my fault that we had to go over the mountain. But it certainly was nice of the village… what was it called again? Karico?"
"Kakariko Village," Nayru said helpfully.
"Yes, that's the one. It was certainly nice of Kakariko Village to lend us a few beds for the next few nights, even if they're a bit rickety. Far, are you even listening?" Din turned to look at her sister – or rather, where her sister should have been. "Wait, where'd you go?" she said, and then spotted Farore standing a good ten paces back, staring at the top of a large tree. "Nayru, hold on a tick, would you?"
"We're never go—" Nayru started, but stopped when she realized that her sisters weren't bickering now, and watched Farore with an expression of mild interest.
Slowly, Din approached the green-haired woman, who stood perfectly still, as if frozen in place. "C'mon, Far, it's just a tree…" She reached out a hand to grab her sister's arm, but was swatted away. Farore eyed the tree strangely.
"Hello?" Farore called, and Din smacked a hand to her face.
"We don't have time for this, Far," she said, agitated, and threatened to walk away completely. Farore, however, ignored her.
"That's an odd coincidence," Farore muttered, "who would name you that?"
Her questions must have alerted something in the tree, and Din dove for cover. With a thud, a man landed on the ground. As he struggled to his feet, he said aloud, "Note to self: Never jump from the tree again." Farore let a small giggle loose, but regained her stern look almost instantly. "Judging by your lack of surprise, you were expecting me. How did you know I was there?" the man asked curiously.
He was roughly six feet tall, and wore a battered and bruised brown cloak that seemed to be almost smothered in pockets. But despite the state of his clothes, and the fact that he was apparently living in a tree, he was still well-groomed; his hair and beard were recently trimmed, and his shoes seemed fairly new.
Farore looked at him and tilted her head, as though to get a better look at him. "I—I saw your shadow on the ground," she lied. "And, judging by the fact that you're down here from your tree, you knew I was here," she added. Din threw up her hands in irritation as she realized that her sister had now started a conversation with a man living in a tree.
"You weren't exactly hard to miss," the man said. "'Far', is it? And one of you is 'Nayru'? I'm guessing 'Far' is just a nickname for 'Farore', right? That would make the red-headed girl over there 'Din', I suppose. Some parents you must have had, naming you after the Goddesses."
Farore stood there, still thinking, so the man continued. "Anyway, why did you lie? You didn't see me in the shadow – you weren't even looking at the ground when you stopped."
Such a blatant dismission of her lie provoked Farore to response. "Wait, you were watching us?" she asked, trying to seem offended, but the man simply shrugged.
"There isn't usually much going on here nowadays. Every week or so, a boy comes by with a wheelbarrow from the south, but other than that, you don't get much happening in this part of the kingdom – except for the Gerudo, of course. People are afraid of travelling alone, and even large groups are cautious about how far they stray from civilization. So when something of interest happens, which is pretty much anything other than the usual, I tend to watch. So now I ask you again: why did you stop?"
Farore frowned, and looked at her sisters. Din was scribbling in her notebook – probably writing more notes for tomorrow – and Nayru was humming to herself, watching the conversation with vague interest. She turned back to the stranger, and said, "The same way I know your name," she stole a glance at Nayru, who could hear what they were saying, and finished with, "'Hyre'. It's because…" Farore took a deep breath, and said, "It's because I'm the Oracle of Secrets."
The man named Hyre simply stared at her, his face awed by this knowledge. When he regained the use of his mouth, he asked, "Wait, so you know all of my secrets? You know where I'm from and what I'm trying to do?"
Farore shook her head. "I don't know everything, that's not quite how it works. Some things are more…hidden than others, but for someone of your apparent age, the web you've spun around yourself is quite thick, and it intrigued me."
Hyre ran a hand across his face in thought at what Farore said, and after a pause, asked, "Is there any chance you could help me, then? I lost something – someone, a while ago, and I need to find him. He saved these lands once, and I'm afraid that if he isn't found soon, he can't help if anything were to happen again. Knowing this place, it's just a matter of time…"
"No, I'm sorry," Farore apologized. "There's nothing I can do – it doesn't work that way."
"It's okay," Hyre said with a sigh. "I didn't really expect you could, and at this point, I don't think there's anyone who can. He's been missing for almost three years, now." He took a deep breath, and said, "Anyway, I assume that your sisters are also Oracles, am I correct?" It was obvious that Farore was hesitant to answer, so he added, "I won't tell anybody if you wish. As I suppose you know, I can keep secrets."
Farore let out a snort of laughter, and said, "Yeah, I suppose you can. Nayru's the Oracle of Ages and Din's the Oracle of Seasons…"
"Hmm…" Hyre paused in thought for a moment, before he said abruptly, "Sorry if I seem intrusive. I'm plagued with curiosity about certain things."
She nodded, and the ensuing awkward silence indicated that their conversation had just about reached its limit. She pointed over her shoulder at her sisters, and said, "I – I guess I should probably be going, then. You wouldn't by any chance know the way to Kakariko Village, would you? Our 'accommodations'," Farore made sure to emphasize the sarcasm with which she stressed the word, "await us…"
"Actually, if you're looking for an Inn for the next few days, I would recommend the Lon Lon Ranch. It is run by a nice young woman and her father, and, judging by your luggage, you're running the show in Castle Town tomorrow night, so it's actually a bit closer than Kakariko Village. Unless I'm mistaken, of course," he added hastily, in case he overstepped his bounds, and pointed to the east. "There's a bridge just over there that'll take you across the river, and keep going for a bit longer and you'll reach the stairs –"
"Oh, that's right," Farore said, groaning, "stairs. Which way is it to this Lon Lon Ranch, then?" Farore picked up her bag, and began hauling it over to her sisters.
Hyre smiled, and pointed behind him. "Go south for an hour, maybe an hour and a half and you should get there."
"Thank you very much," she said with a smile. She turned to her sisters, and said, "Let's go."
"Done flirting with the man?" Din asked, and put her booklet back inside her pocket. Hyre offered a hand to the two sitting sisters, but Din stood up on her own. But when Nayru grasped his arm, she didn't get up; instead, her body seemed to lock in place. There was a moment's pause before she leapt to her feet of her own accord, and took a good step away from him. She had a blank look in her eye, but a terrified expression on her face. "Oracle of Ages, you said?" Hyre asked of Farore, worried. "What exac—"
"You TOLD him?!" Din shouted angrily at Farore, and nearly hit Hyre in the face with her flailing arms.
"He won't tell, Ruckus, calm down. We have more important issues, anyway." She pointed at her oldest sister, who hadn't moved, except to twitch. Slowly, Nayru's trance broke, and she backed against a tree, breathing heavily.
"What happened?" Hyre asked her, slowly, and was careful not to provoke her again.
After a few seconds, Nayru put words to her thoughts again, and said, "I… I felt w-water, like a flood. There was lots of water, everywhere, b-but it was distant, like it wasn't c-c-coming for a while. I don't und-understand why I felt it when I grabbed your hand…"
"Nayru, why are you telling him, too?"
Nayru hushed her sister with her hand, and, through her still-quickened breaths, said, "He knows already."
Hyre spoke this time, worried, saying, "Are you sure that's what it was?"
"Y-yes," Nayru said. "It's pretty hard to confuse something like that."
"I wouldn't know," Hyre said, frowning.
"It's…water," Farore said, as though it were obvious.
"Yes, well," Hyre said, taking a deep breath and looking at Nayru, "If this is true, then I have to go stop it. But why was it me?"
"I don't know," Nayru said, shaking her head. She seemed to be breathing normally again, but shied away from Hyre whenever he looked at her.
Hyre looked up, and said, "Then I wish you a safe journey and lots of luck. I'm sorry I had to put you through that."
With that, the man hurried away, and disappeared behind a tree.
"I knew I recognized him from somewhere," Farore said, looking at Hyre. "He's that guy from this morning, though it feels like it's been a lot longer than that, now, doesn't it?" Though, something felt a bit strange to Farore. It wasn't his company, or the fact that he managed to gather such a unique group of people in such a short time, but rather something felt wrong, like she'd been betrayed. She turned to Nayru, whose reaction would be less explosive. "I think one of the others knows our secret," she said.
Her plan failed miserably, however. "This is your fault, you know!" Din said angrily. In an attempt to ignore her sister, Farore noticed that the owl she'd seen before had flown off….
"More guests," said Ingo from behind them, "or are you here for a short rest?"
"Just a rest, thanks," said Hyre. He muttered something to the woman next to him, and looked in their direction – no, at them – and the two started approaching them. Farore ducked her head down in the exceedingly vain hope that Hyre would simply forget why he was here.
The door to the inn swung open, and Malon's sweet voice spoke. "Did you say 'more guests,' Ingo? Oh my, what a group we have here today!"
Hyre and Impa stopped walking. "No, miss, I'm sorry but we're not staying. We have important business to which we must attend, but thank you for your offer."
"Wait a second, I know you…" Farore looked back at the group again, and saw that Malon was looking at Hyre with a vague recognition on her face. "Yeah, you're the guy from two years ago who found Epona! Did you find Link yet?"
Hyre hung his head, and said, "No, I'm afraid I haven't." He looked up and continued, "But that's part of why I'm here now, actually. Have you heard any news about him since then?"
"I haven't, either, sorry."
"If I may interrupt," the woman said abruptly, "why are we here?"
Hyre turned to look at her, and raised a hand to point at Farore, who ducked for the cover of the bench. "We're here to speak to them. If you'll excuse me, Miss Malon, we have important matters to discuss with them."
"Wait a minute, I know her," Nayru said, and Farore looked at her sister. "She's that Impa woman who visited Labrynna a few years back, I think."
Din turned around at the mention of the woman's name. "Hey, she came to Holodrum, too."
Nayru and Din stood up as they approached, and Farore reluctantly did, too. "Hello again, mister," Nayru said, and took a small step backwards. "I see you found some help. And it's good to see you again, Impa, though you're looking a bit thinner."
"Excuse me?" Impa said, surprised. "I don't believe we've met before. Please jog my memory…"
"I met you eight years ago, in Labrynna, when Queen Ambi built her tower. Don't you remember? Does the Harp of Ages ring any bells?" When it became apparent that Impa didn't remember Nayru's events, Din chimed in.
"Do you remember when you came to visit Holodrum, only to find General Onox and his destruction? Does 'Rod of Seasons' mean anything to you?"
Impa shook her head, and looked at Hyre, whose face was scrunched up in thought. "No, I'm sorry, but I don't remember either of you or these events. I don't remember any harp or staffs, but I know about the Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, and I suppose you would be them."
"Hello, don't forget about me. I'm the Oracle of Secrets. Don't worry, you probably wouldn't remember me, because I sat around by myself while this happened because nobody sent anyone to come get me during either crisis," Farore said angrily. "But I think you actually don't remember them…"
Impa shook her hand and said, "That's not important right now. I came to ask you a few questions, because this guy isn't the most reliable source of information." She nodded at Hyre, who shrugged.
"First, did you see Hyre this morning?" Farore nodded her head awkwardly. There wasn't any point in hiding it, she figured, but it seemed an awful lot like an interrogation. "Second, did you tell him something about a flood?"
Again, Farore nodded, but Nayru said, "Not a flood, per se, just lots of water. How he interpreted it is up to him."
"Do you believe me now?" Hyre asked, and Impa, resigned to the fact that he was telling the truth, nodded.
"That's it?" Din asked. "That was a complete waste of time, I hope you know," she said, and sat herself down on the bench again.
Farore looked at her sister, and said, "Don't mind her; she's had a rough morning. But she's right: that was pretty pointless."
"Sorry about that," Impa said with a shrug. "This wasn't the outcome I was expecting; he keeps lying about the important stuff, so I thought I'd call him on it again. I'm sorry I interrupted your morning like that. If I ever do remember what you ladies were talking about, I'll be sure to let you know, though."
Hyre and Impa turned to walk away, but heard a low gasp. "Oh my goodness, not again," Farore said, disturbed.
They looked back, and saw that Nayru's eyes were closed, but she seemed to be in pain. When she spoke, it was hoarse, as though she were trying to suppress the voice within her. She said, "Things are happening; events are being set in motion that took aeons to prepare. Everything that happened ten years ago was just the beginning, and this is the dawn of our world's future. We have a choice: Face a near-eternal struggle that will consume generations upon generations, or succumb, and allow the darkness to swallow it up."
"This better not be a hoax," Impa said, raising an eyebrow. Farore gave her a look of fury at her comment, and Impa realized that perhaps it was real, after all.
"We can die in bravery in the fight for our right to survive, or we can live in fear as that right is stripped away from us." With that, Nayru fell limp, and Din caught her before she collapsed.
"Okay, now I believe you," Impa said, looking at the distraught look on Hyre's face.
"I think we'd better get going," Hyre said, and finally tore his eyes away from the Oracle of Ages. He and Impa returned to the rest of the Sages, where Ruto and Saria were reminiscing about Link and, with the exception of Saria, their brief, but memorable, encounters with him.
"It was nice meeting you two. I wish you a safe journey, and I really hope you find him!"
"We will, don't worry! Goodbye, Malon."
Hyre looked at Malon, and said, "It's good to see you again, Miss Malon, and I'm sorry that I have to cut this short. But before I go, I want to let you know something: if you hear anything about Link, anything that could aid in our search for him, I want you to tell the owl. That's it – just tell the owl, and you can consider the message delivered."
With that, Hyre and the troupe left a confused Malon behind.
"It seems like you've got some more competition, Iketh. That Malon girl seems to like Link just as much as I do!"
At first, all there was were blurry shapes and noises.
"Are you sure she's alive?"
"I think so; I can see her breathing, and that feels like a pulse to me."
"You got the water, right? Alright, give some to her, but make sure she doesn't choke on it."
"Hey, look, I think she's waking up!"
The noises had organized themselves into coherent speech, but the shapes refused to cooperate. What appeared to be something orange was holding what appeared to be something gray containing something blue, but she couldn't be too certain.
The gray thing turned out to be a bucket, and the blue thing turned out to be water, and the orange thing turned out to be a person pouring said water into her mouth.
"Nice of you to finally join us, lady," said one of the orange figures that slowly morphed into the face of a woman with red hair. "How are you feeling?"
"Waddoo tawkn abot?" she mumbled, and tried to get up, but was restrained. "What are you talking about?" she said again.
"You've been out cold since Mutoh here found you a few hours ago. I've been watching over you since then. My name's Anju. What's your name?"
"Name… my name is, uh…" She trailed off and put a hand to her head as she tried to remember. "Impa, there we go. My name is Impa."
Anju smiled at her, and said, "What a coincidence, there's another woman named Impa who used to live here." Then she frowned, and said, "Now that you mention it, you look a bit similar to her. Are you two related, by any chance?"
But the woman wasn't listening. "She lives here?" she said, and pushed Anju's protesting hands away as she struggled to get up. As she hobbled to the door, a man came through and said, "Anju – oh, excuse me, ma'am – we have company: a large group of people, by the looks of it. They'll be here in a moment."
The woman could still hardly see her surroundings, but she knew the village so well that she didn't need to. She fought not to collapse, but she was running out of strength. "Must find Impa…" she said, and crumpled to the ground.
She heard a cry, and the sound of someone running. The older, but still familiar face of Impa appeared above her, and she smiled, but her smile was not returned.
Instead, Impa stared in shock at the woman in her arms. "Yrma?"