Gabbiez: Haha, I thought Shea looked like a bumblebee, too, when I was coloring him. And Emri's do-dad on her belt... I had a random, spontaneous moment when coloring that thing. I appreciate your regular reviews!
Hunterspire: Yes, Blaize is banned from disclaimers...
Which brings us to the disclaimer! Claire, go ahead.
Claire: Shinjiru Kokoro does not own the original idea's for Zelda, merely the games.
Me: Good girl. -tosses a cookie to her- I've trained her so well...
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Chapter 3
When Shea had finally fallen asleep, Zelda rushed to the library, mind racing. But… what's happening? Why are they all so sick? She had heard the warning relayed from Link, but she didn't fully understand it. She didn't understand what Rhairu meant by taking away the sacred blessings… or something like that.
So, what better to solve the problem than books?
Of course, they might not have any documentation of this, or anything foretelling it… the thought made the princess' shoulder's slump as she forced the large, oak doors open into the library.
Taking a deep breath, Zelda calmed slightly. This room always calmed her nerves… she had spent many lonely nights in here, reading the words of other people's lives. It gave her some comfort that she could escape to another world, and not return to her own for a good while.
Rounding a shelf, she found a huge pile of books on a desk. Raising her eyebrows, Zelda followed the sound of excited muttering.
Again, more piles of books littered the floor, and Emri Cailyn was amid it all, pulling book after book off of the shelves.
Putting her hands on her waist, Zelda cocked her head questioningly, "Emri, I do believe you should be in bed. Your fever hasn't broken yet."
Emri started, snapping her head towards the princess, before sheepishly flushing at the mess she was making, "I'm sorry. But I have to read something. And Claire is still muttering angrily about not being able to move her hand. Speaking of which…" Emri looked at her own hand, which hung limp from her arm. It really was a wonder that she could carry a stack with her other hand without dropping anything…
"So," Zelda looked at the books on the floor, "have you decided which ones you're going to read?"
"Ooh, Zelda! I simply can't just choose two or three. They all look so appealing; they're calling for me." Emri looked at the stack in her hand, the stacks on the floor, and the stacks on the desk, before sighing. "I see your point."
Zelda laughed, leaning over and picking up a pile, "C'mon. I'll help you carry them."
Emri smiled, juggling the books that were already in her arms as she walked out of the shelf row. She looked at the princess curiously, "What were you doing in the library?"
"I have some questions that need answering." She solemnly replied.
Emri pursed her lips in thought, "It's about Rhairu's warning, isn't it?"
Zelda sighed, adjusting the books in her arms. "It's just so confusing. I know it seems so simple, but I feel like I'm overlooking something, like the answer is right under my nose!"
Emri raised her foot to the door handle, using her foot to push it down. The door swung open innocently. Zelda saw the girl brace for noise, but when none came, she poked her head inside, "Claire's asleep." She said this as if it were a heaven-sent miracle. She walked over to her bed, and dropped the books down at the end of it. Zelda made a more graceful attempt in setting the books down on the girl's bedside table.
Emri hopped into her bed, and picked up the nearest book. Within moments, she was deeply occupied.
Zelda sighed, walking over to Claire. The red-head breathed deeply, making soft snoring noises. The princess sat down next to the bed, brow furrowing when Claire's peaceful face changed to disturbed. She turned her head in a distressed fashion when Emri grunted.
Looking at the previously reading girl, Zelda was confused as to why she was clutching her head. She stood, and walked over to the girl, "Emri, Emri, can you talk to me? What's wrong?"
"He's… he's… he's taking it!"
---
Rhairu looked at the alter where a faint image of where the Triforce hovered impassively. With every passing second, the image grew bolder; brighter. He looked down at the incantation book he had used… after all, it was the first time in a long time since had to take this kind of matter into his own hands.
He had lost track of how long he had been down here. The incantation to pull the Triforce from the mortal world had taken longer than what he had remembered…
Did he regret this decision? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was questioning himself if he was making the right choice. But otherwise, no. He didn't regret what he was doing. And he wouldn't regret what was next on his agenda.
Block off his power from his container.
Ever since that incident with the Exelians a month ago, Rhairu had been pondering how to keep his powers safe within Shea. But, that could only happen if he himself could remain calm… and lately, he had been made very irate at the actions of the Exelians. It had been noted through Shea… the boy had become very irritable and agitated by anything. And he was thinking away from the group… they had become disconnected.
That's why he was taking away their privileges. They had become independent from each other.
And by blocking off his powers, there was a lesser chance that his container would feel the emotions from the god he was representing. Of course, the barrier couldn't hold everything back…
"Brother." A serene voice penetrated the recesses of his mind. Rhairu turned his head over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. Hadn't he told Farore to tell the other two that he was busy and didn't wish to be bothered?
"What is it, Nayru?" He snapped.
The goddess shimmered with a blue light as she descended down the steps to where the alter was. She looked over her brother's shoulder, and her eyes narrowed, "Why didn't you tell us about this?"
Rhairu slammed the book shut, gripping the pedestal tightly, "Because it would only have erupted into an argument, and I can't risk getting upset, not when my emotions can permeate through my container."
"You're stressing about this too much. We let the world run its course before; you can certainly relax about it all. The Heirs will figure it all out without you interfering."
"My Balance wasn't threatened last time." Rhairu growled, "We weren't threatened last time, either."
"But," Nayru ran a finger over the ancient book, "why are you taking away the Triforce?"
"They do not have the maturity to handle it."
"Rhairu, you've seen the unity they've built up. On their journey they thought like one-"
"That was because Shea hadn't become independent and selfish in his thinking."
"You've become that way, too, my brother. It's only natural that he do as well," Nayru's tone softened. "Give the Triforce back."
"Sister… mere children do not deserve to have such greatness." Rhairu answered her in an equally soft voice, taking his sister by the shoulders.
"It worked once…"
"That was an exception. A time-changing destiny had to unfold. But even when together these mortals cease to be one. They lack the ability to hold the Triforce in unity."
Nayru's eyebrows came together, "They can learn."
"Perhaps…" Rhairu let go of her and turned back to the Triforce, which was becoming solid. He opened the incantation book to the page he had originally been reading and looked down at the words. "But to prove one's worth is more than feeling sorry…"
----
Zelda was, once again, in the library, flipping frantically through pages of multiple books. She highly doubted they would have anything on the removal of the Triforces, but it never hurt to look.
Her mind rewound itself back to when Emri exclaimed that Rhairu was taking it away…
"Emri, Emri. Talk to me, honey; what's going on?" Zelda asked soothingly.
The girl shook her head, digging her fingers into her scalp.
Suddenly, Claire sat up, eyes wide. "He's talking to me…" she started to shake.
Emri managed a nod, letting Zelda know that she was hearing the same. "He said, 'You do not deserve this greatness: it is mine.' I feel like a piece of my soul is being torn off and sucked away."
"My head hurts." Claire declared, eyebrows furrowing.
"Emri's is hurting more so… her Triforce affects her mind…" Zelda whispered to herself as the brown haired girl drew in a hissing breath.
And then another person came to mind. "Shea."
How was he faring? Was his being taken away? Or did Rhairu have something completely different planned for his container? It was so hard to tell… it was hard to predict what gods would do, but the lack of knowledge was often dangerous. And Rhairu wasn't turning out to be the merciful god he was normally depicted as…
Opening the door to her son's room, she sighed with relief to find him still asleep. She laid a hand on his fore-head; his fever had broken, at least. And thank the heavens that Rhairu hadn't done anything to him… yet. Zelda couldn't shake the ominous feeling that Shea was going to receive the short end of it all.
His eyes slowly opened, and he looked at Zelda impassively, "Mom… he's taking it away." Zelda couldn't help but notice how calmly he said this.
"Yes, Shea. Emri and Claire's Triforces have been taken away."
"I don't know why."
"Neither do I."
Shea seemed calm, compared to the past few days. In the last few days, he'd been restless, snapping at everything and anyone. He'd refused to sit for more than a few minutes, always pacing with some unknown anxiety. And now, that anxiety was gone; he was relaxed.
Zelda's eyebrows furrowed. "Shea… do you feel anything? Anything odd? Can you feel Rhairu?"
Shea blinked, expression still impassive. "Not so much. I know he's there; just not…" he trailed off.
Zelda nodded, thinking. "It could be possible... but then..."
Shea stared at her without any emotion as he monotonely said, "He's blocked me. I can't feel Rhairu anymore, but it's been replaced by another presence. It's not a person... more of a force."
"A barrier." Zelda breathed. "Rhairu definitely wouldn't do this just because the Exelians are being thick headed again... something else is going on. Something else entirely."
Why? It didn't make any sense...
Zelda blinked, before slowly turning back the page she had just flipped. Squinting at the ancient text, her eyes widened... "One who is selfish in thinking and not unified with his companions cannot hold the powers of a god."
That was it. That was why Rhairu blocked his influence from Shea... because he wasn't unified with Emri and Claire...
She slammed the book shut, striding out of the library, scowling that she would have to find Link... he said he would be breaking those horses she had asked him to break... maybe he'd still be down at the corral.
In all honesty, she thought the scars on his face made him look all the more handsome. She smiled, remembering those early years... it was so surreal, aging. She couldn't believe that the years had passed so quickly...
Zelda sighed as she walked.
The stables were located underground, a strategic formation to the castle. Often times during sieges, the stables were burned first. With them being underground, that couldn't happen. The horseback portion of their army was the strongest, and often gave the Hylians an advantage during battle. Horses were Hyrule's pride.
She stepped down onto the hay-strew floor, looking around. There were snorts and nickers from the horses. Zelda took in a breath, breathing in the musty smell of horse and hay.
The only problem... there was no sign of Link. Maybe he's in the arena... she thought in the back of her mind as she started towards the exit that lead to the horse-back arena.
There was a shuffle behind her, and Zelda turned around as lips pressed down on hers.
With a squeak, Zelda relaxed against Link before pulling away suddenly. "What are you doing? People could-"
"No one is around, Zelda." Link whispered, warm breath sweet against Zelda's face before kissing her again. She closed her eyes, feeling the breath leave her body. As always...
As the two disconnected their lips, Link asked, "What are you doing down here?" He played with the tips of Zelda's hair. It was funny how much of the teenager he once was still resided in his personality.
"It's Shea."
Immediately, Link's expression turned serious, "What's wrong with him? Is Rhairu-"
"Link, calm down," Zelda breathed, "It's nothing life-threatening. He's just been blocked from the powers of the Balance. He no longer has feeling relating to Rhairu, and he no longer has control over the Balance."
"So, by blocked, Rhairu's emotions can't permeate through to Shea?"
Zelda nodded solemnly. "But it's a double-edged sword. While Shea can have his own emotions, the Balance is gone. He can't access it. No one can access it." She added firmly.
Link put a hand to his mouth, thinking as he began to pace. "...why?"
Zelda sighed. "It's because... he's become distant with the other Triforce Holders, and it's making Rhairu angry. It all started when Blaize betrayed him, I'm guessing."
Link nodded, silent. He sat down on a bench against the wall, thinking.
Zelda sat next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder, exhaling. "The Triforce has been taken away, too. The gods are punishing us for something..."
"Someone has made Rhairu very, very angry. That's all I know." Link replied. Zelda could feel the vibrating his voice created when he spoke.
"Well," she started, "we're just going to have to find out what exactly made him this mad."
"I thought it was Shea making him angry."
"No," Zelda raised her head, amused, "Rhairu put a barrier in Shea because Shea was making him angry. Rhairu taking away the Triforce is a completely different issue."
The two remained silent for a moment or two, letting the conversation sink in. It was a lot to handle... Zelda took a breath. "I'm worried."
Link looked at her softly, "We all are."
"No, Link. I'm worried about Shea."
At Link's confused look, Zelda continued, "You've noticed how he's become more distant from everyone. But, from what I remember, he used to be happy all the time. There was never a frown on his face..."
"That changed when the first thing he ever loved left, though, even if only slightly." Link reminded her, kissing the top of her head, "But after the incident with the Exelians, Shea probably feels like he can't trust anyone anymore."
"But does that include Claire and Emri? As far as I know, they've done nothing against him!" Zelda's eyebrows came together in thought.
"True, but it goes back to the trust thing. When we were surrounded by the Exelians the first time, we couldn't do anything to stop them. I knew it was a lost cause either way. Blaize was bad, but add on the people that you trust not doing anything... I think Shea could be permanently scarred." Link finished. Zelda looked at him in awe. She could never figure out where the wise understanding came from... Link seemed to understand almost everyone. She leaned her head on his shoulder again, and closed her eyes.
---
Shea felt strangely uncomfortable. He had gotten -somewhat- used to the presence of Rhairu inside of him before that was suddenly changed. It had been a week since he was sealed off from the god's essence. During that weeklong period, Shea couldn't have been more relaxed. But now, he felt edgy and restless.
Nothing like he had been before, though.
A quick shine of metal came flying at his head, and he ducked. Curse Emri and her bo-staff! That girl could beat a fully-grown, fully-trained soldier in two seconds flat. Shea had seen it happen.
Emri cocked her head, a smirk playing at her gray eyes. "Give up yet?"
Shea curled his lips, amusement shining in his own eyes, "Never." He growled before charging at Emri with the sword he was borrowing. He had been disappointed to find that the one that he had received during the conversation with Rhairu's Messenger was still with the Exelians. Well, not disappointed. More like angry.
Emri looked at him with a bored expression, before expertly turning her staff around so it hooked under Shea's torso, and flipped. Shea was smashed to the ground on the opposite side of where he had originally been.
He glared up at the sun, which was soon blocked by Emri's grinning face. "You okay?"
Shea grimaced when he heard the faint sound of Claire laughing in the background. "I've never been better." He replied thickly, sitting up, shaking his head from the sudden head-rush. He jammed the sword-point into the ground, and stood shakily, swaying from the lightheadedness.
He looked over at Claire, who was stifling some laughs. "You know, Claire. If you had been thrown into your back, do you think I would be laughing?"
"Yep!"
Shea smiled. She was probably right.
Emri clapped a hand on Shea's shoulder, and exhaled. "Well, I'm beat."
"You did nothing!" Shea contradicted, staring at Emri incredulously.
The girl laughed. "On the contrary, my poor, confused friend, I used my mind to predict what you were going to do next over and over again. So thus, I am tired." She grinned at Shea unbelieving face before skipping over to join Claire on the ground
Shea shook his head, picked up his sword and walked over to join the two girls. "You are one of the strangest people I have ever met, Emri. Just putting that out there."
Emri saluted. "Glad to be of service!"
Shea fell unceremoniously to the ground with a huff, looking up to the cloudless, blue sky.
Claire raised an eyebrow, and leaned forward. "Shea?"
"Yes, Claire?"
"You wondering why the sky is blue?"
Emri choked while Shea gave Claire a strange look. "...No."
Claire couldn't help but smile. "Then... what are you wondering about?"
Shea took a breath, and shrugged. "I don't know. A couple of things, to be honest."
"Care to tell?" Emri cocked her head with interest.
"Well," Shea chewed on his cheek, "I'm thinking about the time we've spent here. The time we could be using to help Hyrule-"
"Shea, you know that even if we did leave, we wouldn't know what to do." Emri said, softly.
"I know, Emri." Shea consented. Claire hugged her knees, and rested her head on them.
"What else?"
"...I'm thinking about Blaize."
Claire blinked at the hardness in Shea's voice and the sudden rigidness Emri gained in her posture. "And what are you thinking about Blaize?"
Shea picked a blade of grass, twirling it in his fingers. "I'm thinking if there had been a way to prevent all this. To prevent him from betraying us. To prevent the Exelians destroying Hyrule. To prevent the extraction-" he inwardly winced at the touchy subject. Emri must have noticed it, because she put a hand on his shoulder again.
"Shea, I've thought about it millions of times. And there had been nothing we could have done. Fate has rolled her die, and apparently, it wasn't in our favor."
Shea stayed silent, rolling around Emri's cryptic response in his head. "You're right, Emri."
Emri punched him gently on the arm. "Normally, I would say 'I know,' but I figured this wasn't one of those times."
Shea smiled and slugged her back.
Claire, not one to be left out, randomly hit Emri on the shoulder. Her face split into an innocent grin when the punch-ee turned to give Claire a scary look. Emri then shook her head in exasperation.
Shea stood, looking out over the terrace. He walked away from the girls up a small hill, coming to lean on a tree. He could see over a wall from here… he could see a vast plain that was Hyrule field.
He wanted to be comforted by the fact that he couldn't be an outlet for an angry deity anymore; he wanted to be comforted by Emri's wisdom, with or without the Triforce. He wanted to believe that everything was alright…
But something inside of him told him that something wasn't. Somewhere, out in Hyrule… something was horribly wrong.
---
"You are positive?"
"Yes, Your Highness." A voice squeaked, tone mixed with the tinkling of soft bells. The voice sniffed, "She's been horribly weakened… she could barely give me the order to come tell you."
There was silence.
"Thank you, Yasl. Is there anything I can do to help her?"
The voice, obviously named Yasl, sniffed again, continuing in his high-pitched squeaking. "You can help get rid of the meanies!"
Zelda's voice sounded stern, here. "Meanies? Can you describe them? Please, Yasl. You have to."
"They had red eyes, and some had marks on their faces… they've forced Mother to do their bidding. Even now, she is a slave to their wills!" The already squeaky voice rose a few octaves near the end.
There was an intake of breath as the sound of someone pacing started. "A fairy… enslaved? Such things are unheard of. It is a sin on its own. The Exelians have done much that need to be compensated for. Yasl, come with me. We need to go find Link. I think he needs to hear this from you."
"Link? The Hero of Legend? Yes, yes, Your Highness!"
A glowing yellow bauble floated out of a room, following Zelda. The bauble zigzagged around in spastic patterns. Even though there was no mouth, words were coming out of the lighted, sphere-like body. "Oh, goodness! Cousin Navi will be so pleased to know that he's returned!"
Zelda raised her eyebrows at Yasl. "It'd be best if you not mention that until after the original business is through."
"…what original business?"
Zelda really wanted to slap her hand to her forehead. Of all the fairies a Great Fairy could have sent… she had to send one with short-term memory loss.
But Yasl seemed to compensate for his memory failure by remembering things that no one would expect anyone else to know. Fairies were charged by the Goddesses to keep the knowledge of every living creature in Hyrule, good or bad. Yasl knew every creature and their dog. Where they lived, that particular specimen of creature's eating habits, and thoughts. It was… everything else he seemed to forget.
"Your Mother being enslaved by Exelians." Nonetheless, Zelda patiently reminded the fairy.
The fairy made a ding-ding noise as he seemed to leap in the air, overly excited. "I remember! Okay!"
The entire way down the hallway, Zelda heard Yasl muttering the 'original business' over and over again in order to keep his memory fresh.
Soon, Zelda heard Link's voice. He had told her that he was going over defense strategies with the captain today.
"…bring squadron five around here, we could flank the enemy if they were in a formation like this-"
"Trace!" Zelda called, making him look up from the drawing he was penciling in while the army captain held it. The captain bowed his head, muttering a formal hello to Zelda.
Link smiled, before his eyes found the yellow fairy floating behind Zelda's head. The blue eyes narrowed. "We'll finish discussing this later." He told the captain, handing him the pencil.
When the man was out of hearing range, Link only had to look at Yasl to give his question.
"The Great Fairy of Power has been taken captive." Zelda informed him.
Link stared at Zelda blankly. "By Exelians?" The thought made his fists ball up.
Zelda nodded, before turning her head to Yasl. "This is Yasl. He has come bearing the news."
"Was the Exelian king with the group that took the Fairy?" Link asked the poor, quivering yellow light.
By shaking his head, Yasl seemed to have a spasm attack accompanied by the ringing of little bells. "No, there was another guy… he had a hood over his face, I think. I couldn't see."
Link's eyebrows furrowed. "So, there's another person out there wanting the gods powers…"
Here, Yasl nodded. "The Fairies were created by the Great God Rhairu. It's been said that the Goddesses created each fairy, but that was only to protect the knowledge of Rhairu. The Great Fairies are like his children."
The two Hylians looked at each other. "Well, I didn't know that." Zelda muttered to Link.
"Good thing that Shea can't let loose Rhairu's anger…" Link whispered. "Yasl, can you recognize the man when you see him?"
The fairy nodded again, before suddenly shaking, tingling loudly. "Oh! He also said something about 'retrieving the Triforce.' He wanted Mother to find it for him."
Zelda and Link turned their heads slowly towards each other once more. They seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Yasl," Link started slowly, "I need to you to do us a huge favor… it involves finding the Triforce before this mysterious man does…"
If a fairy could gulp, Yasl would have done so.
Review, people! No reviews, equals no next chapter! What do you think of Yasl? Oooh, what about the news of a new baddie in Hyrule? Mahaha...