OH. HAI THAR.
Um... I don't have too much to say. Another late night update because I'm a weirdo like that. D:
"What the hell was that?!" A flabbergasted Link blurted out.
"A floor master!" Nabooru said.
"It… it took Vega!" Zelda gasped.
Link scrambled up to get to where Zelda was. She was fine, but seemed extremely shocked. "What… why did it take him?" He asked, more to himself than to anyone in particular.
Nabooru frowned. "It was him…"
Zelda and Link looked at the Gerudo's unreadable face with shock.
"But how did he-" Zelda couldn't finish, because she felt like something was wrong.
"Zelda?" Link asked.
The witch's brow furrowed and she stepped away, looking confused. She turned, looking every direction, as if expecting to find something. Then she looked up to the sky, feeling so… so alone. "I can't feel him." She said in just barely a whisper. She had felt him up until a few seconds ago. She felt panic and distress and an urge to stand up to something and then… then it was gone. She'd been linked to his soul for so long now that it felt strange to have it back to herself… And she was sure that was what happened.
Link went straight to Zelda. "You can't feel him at all?"
She shook her head. "Nothing…"
The page cursed and then began to pace. What would they do? Vega was stubborn and always said he refused to grant wishes, but Dragmire wasn't the type to take no for an answer. Link knew that all humans had a breaking point and, while he couldn't be sure of a star, he was sure they had breaking points as well. He'd only be able to last so long… The chances of a hostile take over were low at the moment, at least until the necromancers couldn't keep their diversion up for much longer. And the news of an heir could only last as long as Vega remained as stubborn as a mule. Because if he broke, he and Zelda were doomed.
The page sighed. "I have to go see my uncle." He said.
"I'm going with you!" Zelda piped up.
Link shook his head. "No – and it has nothing to do with you being a girl."
Zelda frowned. "Than why can't I go?"
"You're the heir," Nabooru answered for Link, immediately understanding the situation. "If anybody finds that out, that's one less for my brother to find. And if you really do look like a woman that used to live at the castle, one of the older staff might recognize you."
"She's right." The page said. He put his hands on her shoulders. "We'll get him back and stop Dragmire." And then he left with a running start.
Frown still on her face, Zelda just watched him leave.
"I really don't understand what you see in him, but I suppose he's got a good sense of duty." Nabooru commented.
The witch blushed. "He does…"
Link had only paused once through his running to the castle to sneeze. He didn't give it a second thought and just continued running at a steady pace to keep his lungs from working too hard. As much as he wanted to run at full speed, he needed to send the message quickly; being out of breath was not an option. The only time he really rushed was when he was at the castle gates. He just stood still long enough for the guards to recognize them and then plowed on through before they could ask any questions. He had made it to the large front doors when,
"Link!" It was Odran and he didn't sound very happy.
He couldn't be sure of how far away the Captain of the Guard was, so he continued for the door until he felt something grab his collar.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Shouted the man, yanking Link back by the collar.
"Ah… I'm not sure what to say… or if you'll believe me." The page said, not quite sure what to do in the situation. He'd focused on only getting to his uncle that he didn't even think of what might happen if he ran into his superior. But he had to get back to business. "Sir, I'm really in a hurry-"
"I don't really care if you're in a hurry, boy!" Odran continued to shout, never losing his grip on the collar. "I expected you t' be gone for a week or two, not two months!"
"Yeah, it's a very interesting story and I'd like to tell it but I really have to-"
"Really have to what?!" Odran asked angrily. Had Link not been used to the man's scarred face when it looked angry, he would've been panicking.
"I have to see my uncle. It's really important."
"An' why do you need to see him? You hate the man." Said the captain flatly.
This time, Link did really have to think about his answer because Odran was right. As far as family went, he and Eugen were family only in name and not much else. So he had to come up with an excuse that maybe Odran could relate to. "His… his cat died."
Odran's brow furrowed. For a second Link thought that his superior might've seen through his flimsy excuse but when no comment came, he continued. "His cat died and… he really needs to know. He loves that thing a lot and it would be so much better for him to know rather than finding out when he returns to Faron."
While the man's expression was still hard, something in his eyes seemed to soften. Then they hardened again. "Yeah, and how would you know?"
"You said it yourself, I've been gone two months." Link commented, hoping his voice didn't sound as shoddy as the story he just came up with.
Finally, the older man seemed to be getting teary. He let Link go. "Fine then. You go tell your uncle 'bout his cat…" He sniffed. "I mean… when Sir Whiskers died during the war…"
The page wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so he just hesitantly patted the man's shoulders and left. As soon as he entered the castle and turned the corner, he ran. Link had always heard about his superior's affinity for cats but… It's no wonder he's never married.
"Link? What on Earth are you doing here?"
He couldn't believe he was even thinking it, but it was just the voice he wanted to hear. He backtracked to the corner he had just passed to his uncle standing there with great surprise on his expression. The expression then went to one that most people took as Eugen's normal goofy look. Link shuddered as he recognized that the smile was not goofy, but angry and intimidating. "I believe I told you not to leave the temple."
Closing in on his uncle he whispered, "Vega's been taken."
That seemed to change everything. "By whom?"
"Who do you think?" Link asked brashly.
Cursing, the small man paced back and forth for a minute. Then he paused and looked to his nephew. "Come."
Surprised at how fast his uncle moved with such short legs, Link found himself having trouble keeping up with him at a walk. But the walk wasn't too long. Eugen had lead him straight to what seemed to be the Province Holders hall. The small blond man immediately went for Anya's quarters and opened the door, not even bothering to knock. However, he paused as he opened the door, looking almost shocked. Link forked an eyebrow wondering why. Eugen did his Sheikah disappearing act and Link rushed in.
The whole situation was very confusing for the collared page. Anya, a look of absolute rage on her face, seemed to have been stopped from plunging a dagger down on her couch by Eugen, who had taken out his own knife and blocked the attack. What Link had a hard time understanding was why the woman would want to attack her couch? Did the color displease her? He examined the couch more closely only to see why she might be outraged.
He remembered, not long after his adventure with Zelda had began he met the fellow on Anya's couch. Zant looked a bit different now, though. His blue complexion was a nasty grey color now and he seemed to be upset. Link had a thought to take his own sword and finish Dragmire's servant, but if Eugen was stopping Anya from doing so, he obviously had a good reason.
"Link," Eugen spoke with unnatural calm. His eyes never left Anya. "Close the door."
He nodded and did so.
"Anya. Be so kind as to tell me why you are doing what you're doing." It was not a request.
The woman's teeth were bared in a growl, her gaze focused on what was behind the blond man. "It's his fault." Her voice had such hate in it that it almost didn't sound human. All the while, the pressure she had against Eugen's blade never loosened.
The small Sheikah sighed, and his face went to something that Link had never seen before: sympathy. He never let his knife go, however. He continually matched Anya's pressure, even though it was obvious that he could overpower her in an instant. "Yes. Investigations by other Sheikah prove that it was in the king's room… Chances are that was how Dragmire found out"
"Then let me kill him!" Anya screamed, attempting to overpower Eugen and failing.
"Remember what you heard Quinn's voice tell you." Said the Sheikah calmly.
That was what broke Anya down. She wailed and fell to the floor in a heap, dagger dropping from her hand. Eugen sympathetic look turned to pity as he looked at the bawling mess before him. Putting his knife away, he turned to the creature on the couch.
"You really want death so much?" He asked Zant, his expression returning to the eerie smile. The sickly looking Twili just glared at him. "I'd be most happy to grant your wish after we deal with your master. As for now, things seem to be looking kind of down. Now tell me: If your master came across a star, where would he keep it?"
The alien eyes of Zant widened. "He found…" And then he laughed an insane laugh. "If he found him then we're all dead!"
"And that's what you want anyways, so tell me where he's keeping him." Something about the way it was said made Eugen seem even creepier than usual.
"If you really want to hurry to your own death that much faster, then sure." Zant said, still not seeming quite right. "The old dungeons, the ones they don't use. That's where he does everything, really. But for the star he's probably really deep in there; maybe in a hidden room. I don't know. He never told me more than I needed to know, even if can kill me in a moment's notice."
And then stupid Eugen came back. With his serious attitude, a heaviness seemed to permeate around him. Now he was back to having his non-threatening vibe and his truly stupid grin. "Link, go take Anya to the doctor's tent. She isn't sick but she shouldn't be here, either. Then meet me back in the main hall."
The page nodded and reluctantly took Anya's shoulder. The woman was now just whimpering rather than bawling, but she didn't seem to be very aware of what was going on. And that reaction was just from remembering something about Quinn…
After he delivered the woman, he went to the main hall. Just as he said he would, Eugen was waiting.
"Thank you for telling me that so quickly, Link!" Eugen said cheerily. "I'll walk with you back to the temple and tell you what we'll do!"
Link had to admit that he wasn't sure he liked knowing that his uncle was a professional spy with a license to kill, because seeing him employ interrogation tactics… well, Link couldn't really see him as a stupid idiot anymore… even if he still was at times. So the idea of his uncle walking back to the temple with him was very unnerving.
"I'm going to ask you to stay put in the temple for the moment," his uncle said. He held up a hand when Link was about to object and then continued, being careful to use words that would mean anything, "With what just happened we'll have to run around now and get things done quicker. So just go and tell your friend to be ready to go at a moment's notice."
After that, it was silence until Link finally said. "Anya loved Quinn."
"Yup." Eugen said. Despite his happy face, he voice didn't sound that cheery. "She hasn't stopped wearing black since."
Looking down at his uncle, Link had to wonder. "Do you like her?"
The Sheikah didn't seem at all surprised by the question. He just shrugged. "I guess I am getting a bit attached to her, even if she is a slut!"
Link wasn't quite sure how to register that in his brain. Eventually he just brushed it to the back of his mind. There was no use even trying to begin to understand the way his uncle's mind worked.
OH NO I DIDN'T. OhwaityesIdid...
We get into the action... NEXT CHAPTER. Um... no accurate guesses as to when that'll be, though. D: