Just so you all know, I did update Sunday. I tried for Saturday, but FFN was giving me issues. So before you read this chapter, if you haven't read the last one, please do.
Anyways, something important to state- I may have to up the rating to M. Why? Not really for Zelda's, Link's and Vega's segments. They're just being idiot teenagers (except for Vega who's an idiot adult. He's 32, just so you all know, he just doesn't look it at all). I might have to up the rating for Ganondorf's segments. With him I'll be entering the wild world of politics, conspiracies, alliances, and so on. I can't say too much because I'd spoil, but simply put, his segments will handle more mature themes. I think by the chapter after next, I'll have to up it. So if you don't like M rated material... I'm sorry but there's not much I can do. I'm just trying to be realistic.
It was rather nice, sharing feelings in which no one was annoyed or angry for once. If they could get along like that more often, Vega and Zelda wouldn't have minded their curse so much.
Link, however, was now feeling very disgruntled and angry. That stupid star always talked about them being idiots, but did he know how idiotic this whole thing was? The Lost Woods were cursed! Growling, grunting, and cursing, he reluctantly had to lead the way, though. He was the only one who had traveled so far. The witch knew nothing about the area they were traveling and… and the star being was just a jerk.
It wasn't long before they reached the Lost Woods. It wasn't that hard to find, either. It was a sea of trees. One didn't even have to be in it to know that just stepping in there would immediately take you to a dark place. The treetops were so thick the sunlight probably couldn't sneak its way through the canopy. Though it was still daylight outside, the hooting of owls could be heard from in within that sea of trees…
They entered warily, even Vega and Zelda who had been skeptical of Link's presumption of the forest being dangerous.
The young witch, upon taking two steps into the forest was immediately regretting it. She received a look from the star which clearly meant "don't you fare ask to turn back". Would she ever get used to sharing feelings with this man?
"So…" she started to Link, "How do we know which way to go? You have a compass or something, right?"
"Oh, now she thinks about that. Feh, women. We don't know where we're going because compasses don't work here. If you had bothered to ask why the is so suspicious, I would've told you!" The collared page spat.
She then turned right on her heel and said, "In that case we shouldn't even be…" she paused seeing that she couldn't find the way out.
Vega turned where she looked and frowned, feeling her slight fear. "Well… this is a bit squiffy, isn't it?"
"If we die, it's both your faults." Link told them bitterly. He didn't even look back, but kept going through the forest. "I said before, they call these the Lost Woods for a reason."
That doesn't explain how a forest could just close in on us in three steps you sod… The star thought bitterly.
Both the silvertop and the blond quickly caught up with the page. The two that had made the suggestion to go through suddenly felt really stupid, and neither of them would have had to share their emotions to feel it. Every single tree, every blade of grass, every little fern looked exactly the same as the last. Worst of all, as they kept going, all three could say they felt as if they were being watched. All three of them dismissed it merely as curious animals but it didn't quite feel like it… Neither Vega nor Zelda dared speak a word, though, because they didn't want to hear another "I told you so" from Link.
Time seemed almost indeterminate there. They know it passed them by, they just didn't know how much passed them by. And since the sun was obscured by the thick leaves of the trees, they couldn't tell if it was dusk, night, or still the late afternoon. It was probably night, though, since Vega seemed slightly more active… but even the star couldn't tell. They did need to stop walking, however. While Link could keep going, the star and the witch were simply not used to traversing for so long at a time.
None of them felt comfortable stopping.
"How far do you think we've gone?" Vega asked Link.
"I have no idea. It seems like we've been going in circles." Said the page.
The star furrowed his brow and then asked, "You mentioned that there were stories about this place… What kind of stories, exactly?"
The page chuckled bitterly and said, "Not the good kind. Back at the castle, there were all kinds of strange stories coming from this place. Compasses would not work, people went in but never came back… stories of strange creatures coming and kidnapping people, to do what, nobody knows… I even heard something about a monster owl once – around as tall as a small horse. The point is, all the stories point to this being a dangerous place." At the last part, he gave Zelda a severe look.
Zelda just pouted grumpily at the floor.
"Just acknowledge that you were wrong." The star commented. "I have."
She glared but then she looked up. "What if one of you climbed up one of the trees. We could see which way is the quickest way out."
Link raised his eyebrows, "Smart idea for a girl."
"Do you really want to have a tail again?" She threatened.
Her humphed but let it go. "Fine, but I won't be climbing."
She sensed the irritation from Vega. "Bloody humans, always fighting… never can rely on them…" he grumbled as he got up. As fast as he got up, he went up a tree and climbed it like a monkey. Both Link and Zelda found themselves gaping at how fast he disappeared up the tree.
"Do you think that have trees in heaven?" Link asked.
Zelda just shrugged.
Vega kept climbing. He was glad he liked to climb trees as a child… something his sister always reprimanded him for. But what didn't she reprimand him for? He felt a pang of homesickness come over him at that thought… But he shook it off quickly when he almost slipped on the bark. He couldn't think about that now. Besides, he could never go back. The only one he would miss was Estrella, everyone else could go jump into the Andromeda galaxy for all he cared.
The trunk began to thin, telling him he was nearing the top, but he couldn't get any higher. The placement of the branches didn't allow him too. He considered forcibly making the branches move, but the thought of causing harm to the tree sickened him. After all, what had the tree done? Nothing and… and he felt lightheaded.
Strange… Why would he feel lightheaded? He didn't use as much oxygen as a human did… in fact, he could even go without it for a while so altitude had nothing to do with it. The tree wasn't that high either, he was sure of that. Snorting it off, he began to climb back down. Not as fast as he came up, though. Getting down was much harder than going up… especially since he felt so… strange.
He plopped down to the floor, ignoring the pain from the bottom of his feet. How ironic that he could stand falling through the atmosphere of a planet without any repercussions but landing on his feet hurt.
"I couldn't… Where did they get off to?" He asked out loud.
Neither Zelda nor Link was there. This concerned him greatly. Link being gone was one thing, but Zelda was another. In fact… her disappearance explained why he felt so lightheaded. Him and Zelda being separated was like pulling a blanket from two different sides. Their soul would stretch and stretch until it broke… and when it broke… He gritted his teeth. He needed to find her… but where were they? A soul connection didn't mean he knew her exact location…
He growled in annoyance… but also in worry. If he strayed too far from Zelda, both their lives could end. He wasn't sure if she knew this, either, not that it really mattered. One way or another, they'd have to find each other; Vega for self-preservation, Zelda because she wanted her little wish. But it would be better if he could find her as soon as possible.
Whatever had happened, he actually found himself hoping she would be alright… mostly because whatever happened to her happened to him. So for his own sake, he hoped that at least Link was willing to protect. While the little idiot of a witch was capable of taking care of herself, she had the temper of an octorok and could do some pretty rash things (such as casting a spell that cursed herself and himself)… While Link did have a tendency to instill rage in her the likes of which he had never felt before, at the same time it did turn her rage in the right direction…
But never mind that… he thought, glancing at the ground. He may not have been able to track Zelda through their shared soul… but he was good at tracking the traditional way.
Zelda struggled and struggled but couldn't get the cloth out of her mouth, nor could she undo the ties on her wrists. There was something about those ropes that made them impervious to any magic she had… Not that she could do much anyways. She was blindfolded and she felt extremely weak, and not just from being tired. It was very uncomfortable, though. Whatever was carrying her walked strangely, as if its legs were too short for its body… that and its hands were on her butt, which pretty much sealed the creature's fate as soon as she could be let go.
It was all that stupid Link's fault. He was the page, he should've been able to sense an attack! But no, instead he gets a decent sized rock to the head that knocks him out as soon as it hits him. The next thing she knows, she pushed down on her stomach being tied up like a goat for the slaughter hou…
She gulped. That was the worst possible analogy she could come up with. She found herself biting on her gag nervously, not knowing what else to do. At least they hadn't caught Vega… but it was strange… if these people, or whatever, had been following them… Why capture them when Vega was out of sight?
She felt herself be thrown on the floor. She said something very unladylike as she spat grass out from her mouth. She felt her blindfold being untied and she really hoped they'd be stupid enough to untie her wrists, too. The blackness disappeared from her sight and she saw the green of the floor. Something grabbed her and rolled her over so she could sit on her fanny. If she wasn't still gagged she would've squealed at the sight.
Strange creatures… they looked almost like walking tree stumps with leafy masks. And those leafy masks had strange little marking on them that resembled some sort of strange face.
She heard a thump by her and saw that one of the taller, thinner creatures had just dumped Link on the grass next to her. He was still knocked out.
"What are you going to do with us?" is what she wanted to ask, but every time she opened her mouth to speak, she would close it abruptly. Did these creatures even speak Hylian? It wasn't so much that question as she just didn't know how to talk to them. Was she supposed to be polite… did she get straight to the point or open with a threat? Was she even supposed to speak?
"Rejoice young humans!" finally came a warbled high pitched voice from one of the squatter creatures, perhaps not realizing Link was still out cold. "We have saved you from the Silver-White Demon!"
And now I add some Wind Waker elements. The Koroks! I like them better as the Kokiri but... the Koroks fit better for this story. You'll find out more about the little misguided buggers next chapter.
Normal update schedule will continue, however, as always, I give you the empty promise that I might have an early chapter waiting for you.