Hey guys, before we get into the next chapter I want to tell you about something that has been brought to my attention. Rigstig has pointed out that it was very unrealistic for Midna to use the Ordon sword as the blade would be too heavy for her. I had not considered this issue and I have made a few changes to remedy this. As such, I have edited the last scene in Chapter 6. It's nothing major, I've simply changed some dialogue so that it ties up nicely with the rest of the story, should only take ten seconds for you to read the change.
I want to that Rigstig for the critical review as well as Remvis who supported the argument. If any of you see something that is not quite right with this story, don't be afraid to tell me. I can tell from the reviews that this story is pretty great but I can't make it perfect without you guys.
This issue of the sword being too heavy for Midna has got me thinking about something. In the game after you enter the Twilight Realm covering Faron Woods, Midna is swinging around the weapon quite easily even though she's in imp form, and therefore weaker than her true form. I wonder, is this an example of Nintendo logic or does this mean that Twili have greater physical strength that what is expected?
In this chapter we go on a bit more about Link and Midna's training but we meet a new character, an old one and we get some backstory from another. Next week we move on in the story to main adventure. I want to apologize in advance to anyone named Dennis, it is a respectable name and the opinion of it in this chapter is not mine. Enjoy Chapter 7.
Chapter 7: Making Swift Progress
Link and Midna's training went as such; grueling hours building their new skills, shorter sessions sharpening their old ones and occasionally the two of them were pitted against each other in sparring matches. Within a few days Link had oiled up his rusty swordplay and was able to finally defeat their trainer Sarafi in more than one of their matches. As the Gerudo foretold, Midna was able to hold her brand new rapier with far greater ease than with the Ordon sword. However, Sarafi insisted that the former princess continue to train partially with the heavy broadsword for "strength building" purposes.
In terms of sorcery, Link had quickly mastered a variety of new spells, impressing both his mentors and Midna. He tried to use magic without any incantations but his attempts all proved fruitless, yet he persisted. Sometimes after training Midna would teach him a few tricks she learned while growing up. In turn Link taught Midna some of his hidden skills. Though she had seen him execute them countless times they were in fact much more difficult than they appeared.
Today Jarret had brought Link to the running track in the main area of the training center. Link wondered what kind of magic he would be learning that had anything to do with running. He did not have to think long as someone was racing around the colosseum at blinding speed. As the blurry figure hurtled around towards them, a sense of dread filled the Hero of Light when he recognized the person.
"Oh goddesses no," he complained as he stared at the tall red hat and white uniform of the Postman, who skidded to a halt as soon as he reached the Hero and his trainer.
"Heeeey, Mr Link! What a surprise to see you here," the skinny Postman greeted in his high, nasally voice..
Jarret did not seem to share Link's disdain. "Hello Dennis. How's Hyrule been treating you?"
'Dennis?' Link thought darkly, 'an annoying name for an annoying git.'
"Oh same old, same old, Mr Jarret," Dennis replied. "Things have been slow since peace returned to the kingdom. I'm currently on paid leave there so I thought I'd come by and see my girl." The fact that someone like the Postman could possibly have a girlfriend was the biggest surprise that Link had had all week, and that was saying something.
Jarret then turned to Link. "I can tell you're a bit taken aback by seeing Dennis here." 'Well that's one way of putting it,' Link thought. "Dennis was born into the Order but he never quite made the cut to be a full agent so he works for us as an informant in Hyrule."
"What was the problem?" Link asked, genuinely curious.
Dennis gestured to his scrawny bicep. "Muscular deficiency in the arms," he explained, "literally can't use a weapon to save my life. Of course that never stopped me from becoming a darn good magician."
"You see Link," Jarret took over, "Dennis is the fastest member of the Peacekeeper Order. He has mastered a spell that accelerates the body's speed far better than anyone else."
"So that's how he gets around Hyrule on foot so quickly," Link realized. Dennis the Postman seemed to run all over the kingdom delivering everyone's mail. How the one man managed to handle all that work on his own without a horse had always made Link wonder.
Jarret nodded. "Yes and today you will be learning that spell. It is called Rabbit Dash."
The Twili instructed the Hero how to perform the spell and told him to stand at the starting line of the track. When he was ready, Link called out the incantation and sprinted forward. In an instant he felt his muscles charge with power, moving faster, easier. The rush excited him as he blitzed down the track. Jarret and Dennis watched the green blur complete a few laps from the sidelines before turning to face each other.
"He looks like he's doing well. Time to kick things up a notch." Jarret decided. He walked over to a nearby pillar and pulled down on a lever.
"This will be good," Dennis chuckled.
Link was running faster and faster without a care in the world until he heard a strange mechanical noise. Pieces of the track before him began rising up forming short obstacles in the Hero's path. He barely had time to jump over the first two but then he finally adjusted to the change. He continued to leap over one fence after another effortlessly without losing speed until he mistimed the last jump and his back foot clipped the top of the obstacle. The minor collision was enough to cause Link to lose control of his speed. He stumbled off of the track, still moving at an inhuman pace, until he crashed into a stone pillar.
The senior Peacekeepers cringed at the sound of the collision. "You know," Dennis said, looking at the unconscious form of the Hero of Light, "when I see recruits do that I think about how it was when I started training and realize... it's fun watching them crash."
Jarret could not help but grin. "I hear that," he chuckled. "We'd better take him to the hospital though."
Midna barely had time to block an overhead slash with her rapier. She aimed a thrust at her attacker, who sidestepped out of the way. Now that her mentor was standing so close to Midna's right, she sent out a small blast of magic that caused her opponent to lose their balance. Without missing a beat, Midna jumped high over Sarafi and rapped her on the shoulder with the flat of her blade, then slammed the Gerudo's back after landing behind her.
"Enough," Sarafi stated.
Midna backed away and lowered her sword, a triumphant smile spread across her face. It was the first time that she had ever landed a deciding blow on her teacher. Rubbing her assaulted shoulder, Sarafi turned around a grinned proudly at her pupil. The former princess had advanced remarkably well in her training. Sarafi liked to think that it was because of her teaching ability but she knew that there were other contributing factors, such as the Hero of Light.
"Let's have a break. You did exceptionally that time," she told Midna.
They sat down on a bench and drank from canteens of water to re-hydrate themselves. Working up a sweat made the water a sweet, soothing elixir of life. For a minute Midna watched her mentor through the corner of her eye. Finally her curiosity got the better of her.
"Sarafi, can I ask you a personal question?" she said shyly.
The Gerudo did not look at her. "If it's about that boyfriend of yours, then no."
Midna shook her head. "It's not that. I want to ask you about what happened to your leg... if that's alright with you, that is." She was referring to the wooden prosthetic hidden underneath Sarafi's trousers. The thought had been plaguing Midna for some time now but she had yet to build up the courage to ask about it.
Sarafi wordlessly rolled up her right trouser leg and exposed the artificial limb beneath. She was silent for a moment, staring at the leg solemnly before at last she spoke. "I was in the middle of a battle. I had been assigned to join the Holodrum army when an enemy country declared war in hopes of obtaining more territory. In the chaos I was hit by an axe from behind. It was a clean cut through the knee joint, right between the plates of my armor. I fell to the ground instantly and was no longer able to fight. I would have died that day if one of my allies had not saved me from my attacker."
Midna covered her mouth in horror, trying to imagine what her teacher had gone through. Sarafi took a breath before continuing.
"As soon as was possible some of my fellow agents dragged me out of the carnage and brought me immediately to Skyloft. Despite us having the best medical facilities and doctors there is nothing you can do for a severed leg. It was the end of my career as a Peacekeeper, the only life I have ever known. I was devastated. Fortunately the council was kind enough to give me a new responsibility; training new recruits. It is not as glorious as working in the field but it beats a desk job any day and for that I am grateful."
"I'm sorry Sarafi," Midna said quietly.
The Gerudo gave a small smile. "What for? You weren't the one who took my leg. I enjoy passing on what I know to the next generation though I still do miss the old days." Sarafi covered her leg again.
"I have one more question though. Why is it that there were no Gerudo in Hyrule besides Ganondorf? Link told me that your people used to live in the desert but we never saw you."
Sarafi frowned at the mention of the Dark Lord. "Long ago we did live in the eastern deserts of Hyrule. It was a hard life I am told, food and water were scarce and the sand and sun presented many dangers. We coexisted with the other tribes well enough until that demon, Ganondorf, came to power. The laws of our tribe dictate that any man born among our race becomes our king as only one is born every hundred years. The Gerudo had no choice but to obey him.
"My people regretted the wrongs they committed under the Dark Lord's rule. When he was defeated by the Hero of Time the Gerudo surrendered and begged to be pardoned. The princess of Hyrule mercifully agreed to spare us but in return she commanded the Gerudo to leave Hyrule indefinitely. Since then the Gerudo have been scattered, some moving into other countries, some taking to the seas. Others were lucky enough to join the Peacekeepers."
Midna took a moment to absorb the information. "Why did the Order take the Gerudo in after they did so many terrible things? I thought the Peacekeepers were meant to be heroes."
Sarafi looked at her student critically. "The same could be said about the Twili, after all they did try to conquer the sacred realm thousands of years ago."
Ashamed and embarrassed, Midna averted her gaze. "Sorry. I should have thought of that. I didn't mean to offend you."
Her mentor gave a small chuckle, showing that she was not. "It is quite alright. While my race has a bloody history there are those who possess the characteristics the Order seeks in its agents. What made us so desirable to the Order was our fighting skill. Naturally Gerudo are superior in combat to any other race. From a physiological point of view, any Gerudo would be eligible to become an agent. Joining the Peacekeepers was advantageous to us as well; most men here are skillful warriors who make for attractive mates and there's more than enough for every one of us."
Sarafi smirked suggestively and she with her pupil laughed. When they calmed down, the Gerudo stood up from the bench. "That's enough for a break then. Let's run through disarming techniques once more." Midna eagerly stood up as well, wanting nothing more to make her mentor proud.
Link's head throbbed painfully when he finally regained consciousness. He had not had such a migraine since he took a Bulblin's club from behind just before the Twilight covered Hyrule. He tried to remember what had happened to him. The last thing he recalled was Jarret teaching him a new spell and seeing the Postman. Goddesses, he must have hit his head really hard if he thought he saw the Postman in Skyloft.
He took a look at his surroundings. He was lying on a bed in a sterile looking room. Link could smell the bitter odors of medicine which was enough to tell him he was in a hospital or someplace similar. He noticed a rather skinny man hunched over a bench on the far side of the room with his back facing the Hero. The man appeared to be grinding herbs together in a mortar from the sound of it. Link tried to sit up but his head hurt too much so he abandoned the effort with a pained groan. He pulled his hand to his head and realized that his cranium had been wrapped in bandages.
The skinny man heard the noise and turned to face Link. He smiled at the Hero and walked over to the bed. "Good, you've finally woken up," the man said. His face was long and skinny, with a nose shaped like a bird's beak. He leaned in to examine the Hero's eyes and prodded his skull gently. The slight touch made Link wince.
"How are you feeling right now?" he asked the Hero. Link was about to bite the man's head off as he was clearly in tremendous pain but reason came back to him to make him realize that the man was probably a doctor and was only checking on his new patient.
"My head hurts like hell," Link groaned. "What happened?"
"You had a rather nasty accident while you were training this morning. Your instructor told me you lost control whilst practicing speed magic and ran into a pillar. Not an unusual event, I get at least three of you every fortnight. Luckily you only suffered a concussion and a skull fracture, both of which are minor." The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of blue potion.
He uncorked the bottle and held it to Link's nose. The smell was absolutely wretched and made the Hero gag. 'This will take away some of the pain and help heal that crack in your noggin," the doctor told him. Link tried to refuse but another horrible wave of pain made him reconsider. He opened his lips and allowed the doctor to pour the potion into his mouth. The vile, bitter taste caused him to shudder as he forced himself to swallow. Within seconds the agony was beginning to recede as the medicine did its work.
"I've told Jarret that you are to rest for a few days so you won't be going back to training anytime soon," the doctor said as he resealed the half-empty bottle. "So tell me, who do I have the pleasure of treating today? I've never seen you in my little clinic before."
Link was finally able to sit up though his head still throbbed. "My name's Link," he told the doctor, "I came from a small village called Ordon just south of Hyrule. I joined the Peacekeepers a little bit over a week ago with my girlfriend." Referring to Midna as his girlfriend was still a novel thing for Link but he supposed that no other word truly described their relationship.
The doctor nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, I know of you. You are Link, the Hero of Light. My name is Rovair, I am honored to meet you. I have heard many great things about you such as how you cleansed Hyrule of the Twilight and defeated Ganondorf, a powerful being who had lived hundreds of years. Yes, you are truly a living legend."
Link hated being admired like this. People often made him out to be invincible and not at all normal person. He never thought of himself being anything special but it was as if the entire world was out to prove him otherwise. Sure he possessed the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword but he thought he only did what anyone else could have done.
Rovair noticed his discomfort however and laughed. "I know what you're thinking. 'I'm nothing special, I'm just a regular guy like everyone else', am I right?"
Shock spread across Link's face, the doctor knew exactly what he was thinking. Rovair took the reaction as confirmation and chuckled some more.
"There's no need to feel embarrassed, most people who are recruited by the Order feel much the same way. They each have done something spectacular to save the lives of others but they all believe that anyone in their situation could have done the same. Personally I don't see myself as being all that extraordinary either." Rovair turned away and moved towards the workbench he was standing at earlier, returning to whatever task he had abandoned when Link awoke.
Link pondered the doctor's statement for a moment. "So you were recruited as well then?"
"Hm?" Rovair responded without looking behind him. "Oh, yes, yes. You would not believe it but I am actually the eighth prince of Labrynna. No chance of ever succeeding my father as king but then again I never had much interest in ruling. You see, since I was a lad I had developed a passion for healing. There were often times I would stay awake throughout the night engrossed a textbook from the library without noticing the sun had risen up in the morning," he laughed at the memory.
"When I was fourteen I began studying under the royal doctor, of course within a couple of years I was giving him advice on how to treat patients. Sometimes I couldn't tell whether he was proud or resentful of me for it, perhaps it was a bit of both. Eventually rumors of my skills began to spread and caught the Peacekeepers' attention. One day they offered to make me one of their doctors with the best resources in the world. Wanting to do more for a greater cause, I accepted. Naturally, being royalty, I had to pretend to have fallen down the stairs and died."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Link said sympathetically. "If it helps, Midna had to do the same thing because she was the princess of her people, so she understands."
Rovair twisted to look at him. "Is she that girlfriend of yours? If that's so, I'd quite like to meet with her some time. It's always interesting to hear people's stories. Of course I don't get much time outside this clinic so talking to my patients is the only way I really learn about the affairs of others, not that I was ever one to enjoy the open air though. Oh and don't feel bad about my past, I don't regret what I had to do anymore.
"So how's that head of yours now?" Rovair asked, changing the subject.
Link prodded his bandaged head gingerly but felt very little discomfort from it. "Feels fine, I can barely feel any pain."
"Good," Rovair replied, satisfied by the results. "You may be feeling better but like I said don't push yourself. The headache may be gone but you may start to feel dizzy as you are up and about, so go home and get some rest."
Link made to stand up and just as the doctor told him he began to feel nauseous. He had to hold on to the edge of the bed to keep him up straight. "Thank you Rovair."
The doctor smiled. "Anytime my friend. If you ever need medical attention or potions to take with you on missions just come and see me, my door is always open."
"I'll be sure to remember that," Link smiled.
Midna was returning to Link's room after finishing her training with Sarafi. Her right wrist hurt something awful after taking a brutal smack from her teacher's blade. When she opened the door she found Link sprawled along the couch with a bandage wrapped around the top of his head. He looked up groggily when he heard her come in.
"What happened to you?" she asked, imagining a hundred different scenarios where Link did something incredibly stupid to injure himself.
"Ran into a post while I was training," he mumbled. The walk back from the hospital had flared up his migraine again. By the time he stumbled through the door he felt sick so he decided to lie down where he had been for the past two hours.
Midna giggled. "Only you would be dumb enough to hurt yourself that badly by running into something."
"Hey I was moving faster than Epona after a sugar cube binge, I lost control," he retorted. "Arrgh, my head's killing me."
Midna walked over to him and leaned over the back of the couch with a smirk. "Awww, does baby need me to kiss it better?" she teased, bending down to give him a light peck on his bandages.
Link grinned up at her. "That actually does make me feel a lot better. So how was your day?"
Midna stood up and massaged her sore wrist in her other hand. "Fine until I took a whack to the wrist during practice," she said.
"Awww, does baby need me to kiss it better?" Link parroted, grinning.
"Grow up," she scoffed. "I'm going to have a bath now. I've been sweating all day."
"I know," Link said before he could stop himself, "I could track your scent even without my wolf senses."
Midna placed her hand on top of his scalp and proceeded to press down on it. "OW OW OW OW!" he complained loudly as the pressure increased. "Okay, STOP! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"
Midna pushed a little harder for a just second to get her point across before she relented. "I strongly suggest you mind your manners from now on or next time you'll be spending the night on that couch." She left him to rub his tender forehead as she shut the bathroom door firmly behind her.
Twili Link. I should have mentioned that before but I wanted to keep it a surprise. In Cursed by Shadow, Link becomes a Twili early in the story and him getting used to the transformation becomes the main theme. I don't know if it will affect whether people want me to write the story or not but I just wanted to put it out there. Now I'm going to shut up about it.
In other news, for my next project I am going to be rewriting and completing Forever Together by Magic Basher54986. This story was about Midna getting stranded in the Light Realm as she is about to return home, all thanks to Link. The story was unfortunately discontinued due to a few issues but Magic Basher has been kind enough to allow me to take up the story and rework it. I am excited about this and can't wait until I get the time to start work on it.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, next one we get down to business. Until next time,
EquinoxWolf