I love how even though I have school tomorrow, I'm still up at 3 AM working on this. Damn do I need to work on my priorities.
Anyways, that also means I won't be talking to my beloved reviewers this update. I need to go to sleep. D:
Nabooru ended up walking her horse through the Wasteland. Not because the horse couldn't travel it. It was simply the barren lands in between Hyrule and the Gerudo Desert. Had she not pushed her horse so hard, she might still be riding across. But in her rush to escape the Desert she hadn't thought back to the basics: A horse needs to walk two miles for each mile long gallop. The way she had pushed her steed, she was surpised that the horse was even able to walk.
As she kept going, the doubt she had been feeling before the strange experience that lead to her escape came back. She began to once again wonder where she was going to go.
Castle Town was the first place she thought of. It was also the worst place to go. She wasn't wearing anything other than her normal clothes. With no cloak or hood to hide her features, she would be recognized instantly as an enemy of Hyrule.
But Ganondorf got away with it… She thought. How did he get away with it? He certainly didn't look anything like a Hylian. He was as Gerudo as one could get. He probably said he was from across the sea or some such nonsense. Perhaps she could do that too? In fact… she could an accent like the one Vega had naturally!
Her face burned as the anger rose in her as she remembered Vega again. Why was it that he was indirectly giving her all these good ideas!? Maybe she could just come up with some fake accent? Nabooru's face burned hotter as she realized she couldn't think of any fake accent that would sound the least bit convincing.
Pausing, she glanced over at her horse. "You think I could pull it off?" She asked it in her best Vega impression. The horse merely gruffed in a tired response. "I'll take that as a maybe."
And so, she decided she'd go to Castle Town, for lack of any better alternative. If she was found out… as much as she hated to admit it, she would probably run to her brother. But would he help her? Just because they were siblings didn't mean he actually cared for her as such. I just can't get caught then.
Occasionally, Nabooru would practice Vega's strange accent to her steed again, hoping that the use of it would convince people who saw her that she was not Gerudo but from across the sea. At least until she could get a hold of a hooded cloak that could hide everything.
Gradually, the Wasteland began turning greener and trees began popping up more often. A dirt road even seemed to appear somewhere along the way. Feeling that her horse had had enough hardship for one day, she went off the dirt road and let the creature graze and rest. Still, she didn't want to be seen so she led the horse behind a small patch of trees that would hide both from view if anyone were to pass. She found herself yawing a little bit later, noticing that she was actually kind of tired as well. With a sigh, she went and patted the horse's snout. "Don't wander of too far, now." Then she settled up against a tree and closed her eyes.
Nabooru awoke with a jump start when her horse nudged her shoulder. It was night. She was about to scramble up so she and her steed could continue their journey when her nose picked up the sound of fires. Not big fires that suggested mass carnage, but just small fires… like if someone was camping. She carefully glanced out from behind her hiding place of trees and immediately drew herself back in.
Moblins. There was a group of Moblins right by the road, surrounding a fire a cooking what looked like a jumbo-sized wharf rat. She didn't question what they were doing there; she knew the answer already since she was once second-in-command of the Gerudo Army. Ganondorf had been forging an alliance with creatures that had come to be known as monsters. And these monsters were on their way to a secret camp near Castle Town – just in case Ganon needed the hostile takeover he was trying to avoid.
Biting her lip, she stood and carefully mounted the horse. If she was quiet about it, she could ride away unnoticed. After all, the group wasn't that big. Moblins never traveled in large groups because of their terrible tempers. If they traveled in too big of a group, they might end up killing each other. So since there weren't that many of them, she slipped away easily.
But as soon as the fire was out of sight, she apologized to her horse and made it gallop through the night.
Surprisingly, the journey of Link, Zelda, Vega, and the necromancer was absolutely uneventful. It was funny, though, as the necromancer couldn't seem to take two steps without tripping on his sandy cloak.
Zelda was very quiet throughout the whole journey, seemingly lost in her own thoughts and occasionally staring at the back of her right hand. Link would try to get her to speak, but he backed out most all of the time because of the new-found revelation that she was princess. It wasn't in his place to even speak with her, really… But he really did wish to speak to her. She seemed pretty concerned and anxious, and judging from Vega's enhanced moodiness, Link was willing to bet that she was feeling as such.
They arrived in Castle Town through the South gate, squished in between a stubborn old woman carrying an assortment of baskets and an older man who wouldn't stop jabbering that the end of days was nearing. None of the group wanted to tell him how close to the truth he was.
"So where are we going now?" Link asked the necromancer.
Shockingly, the necromancer didn't say anything. He just gestured for them to follow and all of them followed him into a dark alleyway. Going through a maze of back roads occasionally crossing through the continually crowding main roads of Castle Town, the necromancer finally paused in a shabby looking part of town. Vega mumbled something about how he still thought this was a lousy idea, but everyone ignored him. They walked a little more through the main streets of the slums of Castle Town, ignoring the glowering stares from bitter old men in the street corners and pleading eyes of young children who hadn't had enough to eat.
The necromancer had led them to what seemed to be an ancient building. It wasn't terribly tall. A one-story building with weathered stone walls and equally weathered statues in the front. The statues were so run down, their human shapes were just barely recognizable. The windows were stained-glass, with the occasional pane missing. There were beaten-down double-doors made of oak at the front of the building.
"Come on. In here." Said the apprentice necromancer as he walked right up to the doors. He pushed open the door and went right on inside.
The three gave each other reluctant looks, and Vega found himself grabbing the hair at the back of his head – almost cursing it for being use din a tracking spell. Because this place wasn't going to be safe, he just knew it. Nonetheless, all three went in, if hesitantly.
The building was a temple. There were rows of benches and then an altar at the back. And above the altar was a mural. Unlike the rest of the temple, which looked old and decrepit, the mural looked almost new. It depicted the goddesses in a circle, in the order of the Triforce – which was also there in the middle of the mural. The goddesses and the Triforce were emitting golden light above the earth. Their attention was torn away from the mural when they noticed someone walking up to them. It was an older looking man with a great belly and quite mustache and sideburns. Behind him was a sandy cloaked figure, though something about this man was different from the necromancer that had arrived with them.
"Welcome to the Temple of the Goddesses," began the old man with a small bow. "I am Rauru, preacher of this temple. The Master Necromancer-" he seemed to say it with a shudder, "-told me that you would be coming."
"Didn't think I'd see you again." Vega commented. He was very plainly speaking to the sandy cloaked figure behind Rauru.
"Likewise." Said the master necromancer. "My apprentice has gone to make tea. Please, all of you sit down."
The star's eyes never left the necromancer, even as they moved to one of the pews and sat. "Care to explain how a church is going to stop Sir Evil Incarnate from finding me?"
"That would be the power of Sanctuary," Rauru answered the question rather than the necromancer.
"Power of Sanctuary?" Zelda asked. "I think I read about it somewhere…"
The preacher smiled gently and looked lovingly up at the ceiling of the temple. "It's one of the most powerful magicks there is. Anyone who steps foot into a Temple of the Goddesses is granted Sanctuary. It offers the ultimate protection from any sort of evil or spell."
"But it only works so long as you stay inside, right?" Zelda asked.
"The only drawback." Said the necromancer. "It is for that reason that you all must stay here until the others have come up with a plan."
"And the others would be my uncle and that temptress." Link stated. It wasn't a question at all.
"Watch who you call temptress, boy." Said a sharp feminine voice.
Link, Zelda, and Vega jumped in their seats. Reluctantly, the page turned. Dressed all in black from head to toe was Anya. She was beautiful as ever, except something in her eyes was cold and hard. And then next to her, smiling his stupid smile was Eugen. "Hello there, nephew!"
Link grumbled a not-so-enthusiastic greeting.
Eugen then looked at Zelda and Vega. His stupid grin grew wider and brighter. He went up to each one of them and shook their hands. "Hello there! I'm Link's uncle Eugen! Thank you for taking care of him all this time!"
Both star and witch weren't entirely sure how to react to the cheerful introduction except to give their own slightly stunned introductions. After all introductions were complete, everyone was sitting down – save for Rauru who insisted on allowing the group their privacy. Nobody actually spoke, however, until the apprentice necromancer came and brought out tea.
"So," began Eugen brightly, facing Vega's direction, "Judging from your hair and complexion – as well as your air of 'I'm better than everyone else,' you're the star being, right?"
Zelda was surprised to feel no offense coming from Vega at all. Rather, the silvertop just smiled a true smile and said, "Yes. I suppose the necromancers told you about the circumstances me and the girl are under."
"Troublesome, to say the least." Anya said. Her voice betrayed any sign of emotion. "Both you and the…" she looked at Zelda and cocked her head, as if trying to find the appropriate word, "… princess… have power that Dragmire wants."
"But we have the Master Sword," Link said, unsheathing his sword and showing it to everyone proudly. "The Blade of Evil's Bane. Surely it can defeat Dragmire."
"And what to do you expect to do, boy?" Anya snapped bitterly. The sneer on her normally beautiful face turned it ugly, bitter with unnatural hatred. "Are you planning to just walk up to him and do the deed? It doesn't work like that! He has defenses that we can't even dream to get past! How could a bunch of mere teenagers hope to get past them?"
"For the record, I'm thirty-two." Vega chimed in.
But the star was ignored. Link felt his cheeks burn, but his grip grew stronger on the hilt of the sword. "This sword is the only thing that can defeat him, you know."
"Of course I know!" Snapped the Eldin province holder. "It still doesn't stop you from-"
"That's enough, Anya." Eugen said, his expression serious. The page found himself extremely unnerved by his uncle's sudden change in expression. He'd never seen him like that. Even more unnerving was Anya's reaction to it. She was still obviously angry. But her fists merely clenched her black skirts as she bit her lip.
"I know you want a taste of Dragmire's blood," the small man continued, "If anything, you want to kill him yourself. But you, yourself, said it: he has defenses we couldn't dream of penetrating. Aside from his own personal spells, he has that Zant fellow shadowing him everywhere, as well as the vast majority of the Court."
The collared page forked an eyebrow. "How do you know all of that?"
The Faron province holder smiled a creepy smile. "I have much to tell you about my real occupation when we're finished here. But that's later… Right now, we need to get settle this."
"But how?" Zelda asked, joining in the conversation after a long silence. "I mean… The woman there said it: we're just teenagers… kids, really. And we can't just waltz in either…"
"Leave it to the adults." Anya said.
Zelda frowned. She wasn't sure she liked this woman very much.
"And what are we leaving to the adults, exactly?" Vega asked.
"We have to announce that there is an heir to the throne: a blood relative to the king." Eugen said.
"What?!" Link and Zelda blurted out simultaneously.
The blond man-child continued, his inappropriate smile resurfacing. "Don't worry, Princess, we'll keep your whereabouts a secret."
"But won't they want proof of some sort? I mean, it's a little presumptuous to assume they'll just believe you!" She said skittishly. Vega forked a silver eyebrow at the girl, sensing her mass confusion, anger, and fear.
"That's the point, little girl." Anya jeered. "It may be true but unless we present you immediately, no one will believe us. But it'll cause enough of a scandal to keep Dragmire occupied, especially since the king is in no position to speak at the moment."
Eugen then took over. "With all the stress Dragmire will be under, his defenses will weaken. When they're at their weakest, then you can come out and strike. Still, it could take a while. You'll all have to remain here until we can make sure Dragmire's at his weakest. Train, memorize the layout of the castle, make plans, whatever. Just be prepared for this to happen at any time. In the mean time, the necromancers will be distracting the monster camp nearby, in case Dragmire decides that a hostile takeover might be the best choice to gain the crown."
"I thought necromancers were supposed to be neutral." Vega flatly.
The master necromancer shrugged and said, "We are… unless my apprentice just so happens to accidentally release a cluster of rogue spirits upon a camp of creatures. Naturally, the nearest necromancers would have to come and clear up such a troublesome situation, and who knows how long that can take." The apprentice necromancer's hood twitched viciously with all the agreeable nods he was giving his master.
"I don't like not doing anything…" Link growled. And before his uncle could respond to that, the page snapped, "And training doesn't really count as doing anything!"
There was a bit more elaboration on the plan after that, but not much. Soon enough, Zelda retreated into a corner by herself, seemingly more troubled than she had been in the last few days. Eugen had taken Link off to the side to explain that he was really Sheikah – something which Link had a very hard time registering. The necromancers had gone off and seemed to be engaged in conversation with Rauru, the nature of which seemed very… controversial.
That just left Vega and Anya. The star was very uncomfortable and wished he could move away, but Anya's gaze was locked onto him. Finally, she stood and said in a commanding voice, "Follow me."
He seriously considered telling her to piss off, but decided against it.
She lead him to the back of the temple and to the small courtyard within it. It was empty, and Vega was a bit fearful for a moment, until he saw a gate that told him he was still protected by Sanctuary. The woman turned to him, her face like stone.
"You grant wishes, correct?" She asked.
He sighed. He knew where this was going. "I don't."
"Which means you do." She concluded. "I want to make a wish."
"I don't grant wishes." The star repeated.
"Make an exception!" She snapped. But it wasn't in anger that she spoke. Her expression changed to that of a desperate woman's.
"I don't-"
"Please!" She cried, her face looking ever more ragged. "I want him back! Bring Quinn back!"
He was left flabbergasted. Quinn? That fellow who they had seen in the Styx, walking to the afterlife? "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't." He told her.
She stomped her feet angrily and shouted, "Lies! Bring him back!"
"Stars don't have the power to revive the dead." He said it quietly and gravely.
It was as if someone had just slapped Anya. Tears still streaming down her puffing face, she looked blank. It was like something had died inside of her. "He shouldn't have died…" she choked. "It should've been me… He wouldn't be this torn if it was me who had died… he never loved me." And without another word, she left with her eyes watching her feet.
Vega just watched after her. Love. There was that word again. What was love? This mysterious emotion that humans so reveled in… Sure, he knew of sibling love… but this love that Anya had for Quinn… What was that? He couldn't understand. What would drive a person to say such things, to take fault in such things? Love. This strange emotion that seemed to cause so much happiness in some humans… and excruciating pain in others.
The star felt a headache arriving from just thinking of it. Stars didn't dwell much on emotions… things like this were just too complicated for him to understand.
I actually wanted that scene between Vega and Anya to be a little more in depth but I think my brain shortened it because it wanted to sleep. D:
Anyways, just want you all to know that I'll be talking a bit more about stars and their way of life next chapter. Let's just say it'll give everyone a lot of insight into why Vega is such an arrogant bastard most all of the time. In fact... let's just say it's safe to assume that all stars, not just Vega, are arrogant bastards.