A.N. Hopefully I'll get to where I wanted to be in the last chapter. Most likely it will be because it's coming up fast. Actually, unless I drag shit out, I may be there in the first few pieces of writing. I'm hoping so because I'm just too excited to see how it will come out. But a preview on what to expect, without spoilers of course: Ember has found a piece of what she's looking for and as said somewhere in the previous chapter; she nearly dies in the desert. Not as dramatic as fighting and giant evil dragon or something but it will be interesting what happened to get her there. But anyway, read until your heart is content.

Also another shout out to xxxxInu girlxx93839 thanks for the drawing it was adorable X3

Ember's mouth was dry and her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth. Every few seconds she would smack her lips to try to get moisture from her own saliva. Her hand reached for the canteen at her side and started to open it. She stopped and put it back down.

"No Ember," She thought to herself. "Don't drink unless you absolutely need to. Not until your lips are cracked and you can't think straight. You've suffered worse than being thirsty, you had to sit through that meeting at Telma's- Wait. No it wasn't a meeting, it was . . . um . . . hero boy, he was kind of cute up close . . . No wait. That had to be that scholar Shade. Ah no, that's not right, his name was Shad. I think. Goddesses I can't think straight, need water, crap, I don't want to waste it though. Don't worry Ember; it's not wasting unless you guzzle the whole thing down. Okay, two-sided conversations to myself have started. Not crazy though, just-" Ember tripped over her own feet and fell into the sand.

"Yeah it's time for water." Ember didn't expect her voice to sound so rough and that gave her more reason to wake a swig from the canteen. It was somewhat a relief, but she had waited too long to drink that her mouth went right back to being dry. She became light headed and put her hand to her head and closed her eyes, trying to regain some semblance of stability.

"One more drink can't hurt." She drank once again, the canteen obscuring her view as she tilted it. When she brought it down, she noticed a kind of canine animal in the distance, sitting on its haunches. Its golden color blended in with the sand. Ember stood up lowly and began walking towards the creature "It can't be . . . a mirage. It has to be a mirage." She wanted so badly for it to be a wolf from her clan, or just any wolf for that matter. But she knew not to get her hope up in case her mind was playing tricks on her.

But as she got closer the mirage didn't disappear, it looked to her as if it was a golden wolf. She was fascinated with its golden glow. "What are you?" For some reason she expected it to say something. She reached out to try to touch it but the wolf got up and walked a ways away. Ember just watched it go, still too dazed to process what was happening. When it got about twenty yards or so away, it looked back at her as if waiting her to follow it.

When Ember didn't follow, the Wolf growled a bit like it was getting inpatient. She snapped out of her trance and trotted towards the wolf. The wolf looked up to her when she stood next to it as if asking her if she will go with him.

"Okay, you want me to follow you? Fine, I'll follow." The wolf nodded his head and trudged away. Ember followed closely. Al the while she wanted to reach out and pet the wolf but stopped herself. For some reason she felt it would be disrespectful.

"This is crazy, I'm following a mirage." The golden wolf huffed as if it knew it had just been insulted. "Sorry, sorry, mysterious golden wolf. I'm following a mysterious golden wolf."

Much time passed and Ember had begun to slow down. Her water was nearly gone and they were approaching what looked to ember as a large, naturally made wall, blocking the desert from expanding even more. She was hot, and her breathing was labored but she pushed herself to continue.

When they reached the wall, the wolf turned and traveled along the side of it. "Where are you taking me?" Suddenly the wolf turned and headed straight into the face of the cliff, like it fazed through the rock its self. "WAIT!" She ran to catch up to where he disappeared. It wasn't the rock he went into, but a small alcove. When she saw it, she paid no attention to the Golden wolf, but she walked right past it as it sat in the entrance. Because the walls surrounded the area, it was protected from the wind and the sand didn't blow away traces of what had been there before.

On the ground there were print. Wolf prints, and shoe prints. She knelt down to examine them. There was one set of large paws that she immediately recognized as her Alpha Wolf's. She wasn't as good about recognizing the other wolves or even the she patterns of her clan, but she had been around him enough to recognize the Alpha's in a heartbeat.

"They were here. They were here and I missed them." She sat against the rock and put her head to her knees, different emotions flowing through her. Anger at herself for not coming here sooner, Joy that she had finally found a trace of them, but most of all the terrible longing that nearly consumed her.

"You are of their pack are you not?" Ember jumped and looked around. No one was there except for the Golden wolf.

"Y-you-"

"Don't be afraid, I have led you here for a reason. I have been watching you since you have entered the desert."

"That's, that's kind of creepy."

"Pay attention. If you will let me, I will lead you to the path that will bring you to your family. But if you stray from this path, you may not be able to get back on it. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because of who I am, it is my obligation to help those who most need it." Ember rolled her eyes.

"You sound like Hero Boy."

"I did help Link for a time as well. He is a good hearted person and you would do well to respect him." Ember didn't have the strength to argue her case. Not this time anyway. "Come, I will lead you to your path."

"So you wish to go to the desert? A hundred rupees."

"What? A hundred? You've got to be kidding me. Zelda sent me herself, can't I get a pass? I really need to get up there." Link had made his way down to Lake Hylia so he could shoot himself to the desert, now he stood before Fyer. The only thing keeping him grounded and away from his duties.

"Do you have any papers saying so?"

"No but-"

"Then pay up." Link wanted so bad to pull his own hair out. Fyer was being so difficult. Why in the world would he raise his prices so high? And for one person. If it was a group of people, fine, charge them more, they could split it. But a hundred for one person? It was highway robbery.

"Why so much? Can't I just pay you the normal amount?"

"Heh heh, no. Yesterday some group of four wanted to go to the desert. Three of them got free pass because of 'royal businesses. I can't just go around giving out free rides, I lose money that way."

"Four?" Link knew of the three resistance members, but who in their right mind would want to go to the desert?

"Yeah, four. An old guy, and a boy in armor, or was it a girl? I couldn't tell. But the other two I believe that scholar was trying to impress that young girl. She had a smart mouth too. I made her pay her way, but he paid for her. Cheated me out of my money they did."

"Wait, what girl?" Smart mouth, and out around Hyrule on her own. He figured it was Ember, but he had to be sure.

"Ah yes, pretty young thing, she was, I can't quite remember her name." He smiled and did a rough laugh. "Although, I might recall it if I were to be . . . persuaded." Link rolled his eyes and handed Fyer a red rupee. "heh heh heh, yes I remember now, Her name was the color of her eyes. I believe she said her name was Ember." Link went into panic mode. If what Zelda said was true about monsters gathering, then she was in great danger. And if he knew her, she would be ill prepared. At least she was with the resistance. He didn't argue with the price of the ride, but just handed Fyer a gold rupee.

"I need up there five minutes ago, can you do that?" Link climbed into the cannon and disappeared through the hole.

"well yes-" Link reappeared and grabbed the door.

"Then do it. You're lucky I don't report you for wasting my time." Not waiting for Fyer, he closed the door himself and waited to be launched into the air. On the outside Fyer wasted no time getting the cannon to fire. He didn't want to be reported for hindering Link on his orders. It was bad enough he had over charged him and was in hot water already.

Link could tell Fyer was going as fast as he could but it seemed to take forever for the cannon to fire. As soon as he was in the air, he gritted his teeth and focused on the desert that was fast approaching him.

"Damnit Ember, you had better be safe." He thought. As he hit the ground he did a tuck and roll. Link didn't even wait for his body to get over the shock but started running towards he camp that was set up near by.

"What do you want to do? We can't just leave her out there." Ashei was discussing with Auru if they should go find ember or carry on with their orders.

"Yes, but we have to press on- Ah Link good to see you." Link walked past him in a huff.

"Where is she?" He didn't wait for them to answer but looked in the tent to see if she was there. "Ember?" No one. HE turned back to be confronted by Shad.

"She's not here. We assume she left early this morning." Link grabbed him by the front of his shirt. This took him off guard as link wasn't the kind of person to get violent with people.

"She was with you, why didn't you keep an eye on her? And now she's gone into the desert for god knows what reason. SHE . . . COULD . . . BE . . . DEAD!" He didn't know why he was taking out his frustrations on Shad, it might have been because of what Fyer said about him getting close to Ember or it may have been because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Link didn't care, he needed someone to understand the weight of the situation.

"Look, I wish there was something that could have been done, we didn't think she-"

"No you didn't and because of you, she's out there somewhere." Ashei pulled Link off of Shad. He stumbled back a bit then tried to get after him again. Auru stepped in front of him and glared down at Link. His stern face made Link check his behavior and a look of apology showed.

"You should know better than to act rash like that. Now if you just calm down and listen for a bit we'll get this sorted out. We've been discussing what we should do. Been trying to decide who should go look for her while the rest continue on."

"Shad had volunteered." Ashei interjected. "Usually I would agree but since there's supposed to be monsters lurking about, and Shad isn't the best fighter, we'd be sending him into the lion's den."

"Hang on, hang on, and hang . . . on. How do you know Ember anyway?" Shad asked.

"I- I met her a little bit ago. She's a good friend of mine."

"By the way you reacted, I'd say she's more than a 'good friend'." Ashei snickered. Link's face turned red.

"That's absurd!"

"Is it?" Link pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Does it matter? We're wasting time. I'll go look for her. I know this desert like the back of my hand. I can find her and be back in no time."

"And what about Zelda's plan? Are you just going to abandon it?"

" It took me less time than I thought to get the Master Sword so it wouldn't be any later than what it would have been originally." The group was silent for a minute, then Auru spoke up.

"Are you sure about this?." Link nodded. " Alright, but if anything happens and you aren't here, it's on your head."

"I'm willing to accept the consequences."

Ember fell again into the sand, her strength had left her and she had no more water left. It had been finished off long ago.

"Get up. We are not there yet." Ember tried to lift herself off the ground, but her arms gave out on her.

"I can't."

"You CAN!" The golden wolf urged her on sternly.

"I'm too weak, I couldn't move even if I wanted to." The wolf tugged on her sleeve, trying to get her to move, if even just an inch.

"We're running out of time, get up. Hold on to my fur if you have to." Ember reached up and grabbed onto a hunk of the wolf's fur. She didn't want to hurt him, so she put her palm onto his back and used him as a support. She didn't seem to affect him at all. "Come, we must go, quickly." Little by little Ember managed to shuffle along on her knees, holding on to the Golden creature for support. Every so often she would slip, but the wolf would just wait patiently for her to get stable. Then he would push her to continue. After a while, her vision started to fade and she slipped completely from him.

"Rest young one, we are here. I must go now, he will be here shortly."

"He? Who's he?" She could barely get the words out. The Wolf didn't answer he just turned and started to walk off. "No . . . please." It hurt her throat to talk and she coughed, making it worse. "Come back." She could barely tell he was running away from, in fact it kind of looked like the wolf was running back towards her, rushing as fast as he could, but as he got closer, the gold on his fur disappeared. It became a darker color, a kind of grey that almost looked a dark green.

Link rushed forward to Ember his wolf legs carrying him as fast as he could go. After leaving the group, he had changed into a wolf once he got far enough away for them to not see. He was swifter that way, he didn't sink into the sand as easy. He had been searching for only a short time before he had spotted Ember lying in the sand. It seemed like it took him forever to get to her and all the while he's thinking, "Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay."

When he reached her he skidded to a stop, spraying a bit of sand on her. He was just about to change back to his human form when she reached out and touched the fur on his chest.

"Ember . . . get up. Come on get up." He hadn't realized he couldn't talk so what had come out was a small whining sound.

"What happened to your golden fur? It's dark now."

Golden fur?

"Oh, I'm sorry . . . you aren't the same wolf . . . are you? Can you help me?" Her voice was weak and she used him body to help herself sit up. He could feel her weakness so he put his head under her arm to help her up.

Yes, that's what I'm here for.

"Good, take this." She set the empty canteen down at his feet. "Can you go find some water for me? I'm . . . very thirsty." Link bowed his head and took the canteen in his teeth. "Thank you my friend . . . Be swift and return soon." His eyes connected with hers for a second.

I'll be back, just . . . don't go anywhere

Link rushed off to go find some water. While running he hear a kink of thk thk thk sound above his head. He looked up and there above him was one of those flying plants hovering above his head. Even flying plants needed water and what better place for them to store it then in its own root system He made sure Ember wasn't in sight and changed back human.

"That could work." Still holding the empty water container, he pulled out one of the claw shots from his pouch and aimed it at the plant. He shot it and it latched on, flinging him up to it. Link clutched to strap of the canteen in his mouth and with his free hand, reached up and grabbed a chunk of roots. He yanked out them and a trickle of water started to escape.

He took the jug out of his mouth and undid the lid. Holding it under the small amount of flowing water and collected as much as he could. After, he lowered himself to the ground and put the cap back on and the container back in his mouth. He formed back into a wolf and ran fast to where Ember awaited.

While on his way there, he wondered why she had not been afraid. Most every other human he met covered in fear from him. Provided that at the time the whole kingdom was being attack, even when things calmed down, while in his beastly form, they were still scared. Then how come she didn't even slightly cringe at him, even go as far as to trust him to fetch water.

Ah wait, that's right. She grew up with wolves. I guess this form would be less of an irritation to her than if I was my true self. Damn, I was hoping to meet her again as one person to another, not dog to person . . . er Wolf, I'm a wolf. Wolf to person then. It'll have to do for now until I find some way to reveal to her without freaking her out.

When * had returned to where Ember had been, she was lying on her back, arms out to her sides, buried in the sand. Her head was resting on the ground with her eyes closed. He padded up to her side and set the canteen down next to her. He nudged her cheek and she turned her head to look at him.

You alright? What are you doing in the sand?

"It's too hot out; I dug in the sand to cool off. The sun doesn't hit down there so the small rocks that make up the sand are nice and cold.

Can . . . . Can you understand me?

Ember shook her head. "Only a little, I can see your words in the expressions on your face. But I can't tell exactly what you're thinking." She picked up the water and took a swig out of it. "Ugh, damn there's dirt in here. But it's still refreshing. Thank you my friend." She petted his between the ears. "Would you like some? You must be thirsty too after your run."

No, you keep it. If I need some, I can just go get some more.

"If you're sure." She paused, looking his straight in the face. "you know, you look a lot like someone I know. He has the same deep set of blues eyes. I hate to admit this but it was something about him I really liked."

You know who I am then? It's me Link, I can't explain how right now. Wait, you liked my eyes? The heat must be getting to you. Ember wouldn't say something like that. You'd insult me using strange words, or tell me how insignificant I am. Not compliment me. Except for that one time, but that was about my hat-

"Calm down, I can't understand half of what your conveying. But we shouldn't stay here. I've found what I came here for, or some of it. I was told to follow a path. I guess you're my path, so I'll follow you. But don't go running off, a little water isn't going to bring back all my strength. I'm still pretty weak." Ember stood up and blood rushed from her head. She wobbled a bit as her vision faded then slowly came back. "Okay, where to?"

This way, back to camp. He motioned his head back towards where the rest of the resistance waited for him. When Ember saw this, she didn't want to follow, she still felt guilty for just leaving without a word. But the golden wolf's words echoed in her head.

"But if you stray from this path, you may not be able to get back on it."

She sighed. With no other choice but to follow, Ember walked along with him.

AN

Longish chapter didn't take long. Was too excited and I just HAD to finish it. I swear these chapters are getting longer though. I'll try not to do that. So it won't be as much of a chore to read.

It might be too soon to expect anything, but I was kind of sad when there was only one review on the last chapter *insert sad face here* I would much like reviews. Criticism is accepted.

If you choose to do a flame, do so. I also take that as constructive criticism but I will also tell you to shut the hell up and stop reading if you don't like it. It may be a one way street, but I have a semi-truck coming at you from the other direction. Choose carefully if you wish to head down that road.