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"We have been here for more than two hours, inside this damned forest and we have found absolutely nothing...WHY DID I JOINED THIS EXPEDITION?" I screamed in desperation to later find myself petrified on spot upon the rustling of leaves beside me. I gulped nervously. "Link?" My lack of tone in my voice simply scared me further. A flapping of wings made me jump and I whipped around in fear in its direction. That just strengthened the idea that I was completely and utterly alone in the middle of an ill forest. "Link?" This time my voice came as firm as it could; cold sweat broke from my forehead and my legs trembled yet couldn't even move a step. I hugged myself in an attempt to find comfort. Yet failed miserably; only denoting how vulnerable I actually was. The same tremor that ran through my body increased the terror within me and cold sweat began to fall down my forehead. My senses sharpened, everything around me got more detailed, causing me to turn before every sound of the leaves, before every breath of wind, flapping of wings and the cricketing of the bugs. "Link?!" I practically yelled. After another fluttering of wings, I recovered my legs' feelings and ran in any direction my shaky limbs took me not even stopping to take heed of the fact that I was blindly entering deeper into the woods. Perhaps, even rendering completely lost. "LINK!" I ran like a mad man. "LINK?! LINK?!" I evaded leaves and branches, bushes and trees and stones in a frantic search of my project partner whom had conveniently vanished into thin air as soon as we set foot inside the greenish area. Had he possibly tricked me? Had he just led me here to abandon me to my fate? Damn Truant! Damn him forever! "LINK? LINK? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" I ran and ran. Every sound around me sharp as a needle, every detail exaggerated to its maximum before my very eyes. Such was my running and I was so absorbed by everything beside me that I failed to notice the figure that ran in my direction. I crashed against it and fell on my behind heavily against the stony and hard ground. "Argh!" I heard and my eyes, which had closed upon impact, opened with a hit. Before me, rubbing a bruised forehead that was turning quite red compared to his pale white skin, laid Truant. Mine hurt quite a bit too. But I wouldn't let that show.
"WHERE WERE YOU?" I asked as soon as I recovered a bit. The man before me stood up, a bit shakily at first, and glared at me.
"Searching for you." He answered. "I found something you may find quite interesting." He said proudly and with a smirk. He offered his hand to me and I took it hesitantly. What was he planning? He pulled me up and as soon as I was on my two feet he pulled me even deeper into the forest, deeper into the black mouth.
"We would not get lost right?" I asked nervously as we ran.
"Of course not!" He said and chuckled. "Unlike you I have been marking the trees with a phosphorescent marker. I am a bit more cautious." I was about to reply something when we stopped. "It's here." I looked at the direction he pointed to and...I couldn't believe it. I gasped. Before us, the ruins of what once could have been a magnificent and grand castle stood. If at the best there remained some walls and a tower that sure looked like it could be brought down with the slightest breath of wind. I knew it was the ruins of a palace for the ostentatious design and the intricate marks in some of the walls. A common house wouldn't be that perfectly built. Maybe a temple...maybe...but there was something in these ruins that simply led me to believe that it wasn't the case. Perhaps, because it was quite large or for the different markings and representations carved in the walls, they didn't look like the ones of a temple. Hey! I do study a lot for my history class. Besides, I do like my History classes. It's always so...fascinating. So intriguing. I don't know how to explain it. Its almost like reading a really good and suspension wrapped novel. And even better you end up always wondering whether what you read it is actually true or not. There's always that small piece of doubt, that incognito filled reality...its just...I don't know. But I really like it. A lot. So...seeing this...this ancient and majestic place just...It is mouth watering. Anyway, I couldn't even breathe due to my amazing sight before me. "Its..." I walked slowly towards the ruins. My heart was beating nonstop, my breathing pattern was shallow and fast. "Link...this..." I couldn't talk. Something in my throat wouldn't let the words flow freely out my mouth, a knot of different emotions guarded my voice. I thought I was about to drown because of the astonishment. Yet, Truant's voice was strong and clear...apparently he wasn't as affected as I was.
"So, what do you think?" He asked with a light laugh, he stood by me. "Quite amazing isn't it?"
"Link..this is..." A low wind blew giving the palace even a more majestic and sombre at the same time. "This is...how?"
"Something told me it was here." He answered but his voice didn't come out as convincing as before. There was this stain of insecurity that not even the most naive person could be deceived. "A feeling so to speak." Although the uncertainty of his voice, I prefer to let things be. Let him enjoy his finding. He deserved it and I wasn't about to go ahead and spoil his fun. In my mind...In my mind and soul, the idea I held of Truant before was changing. I could feel it. His mere presence may still be a sore spot for my otherwise sunny life. But...Now, I couldn't find it in me to hate the fella. There was something within him that found him bearable in the face of my presence. Didn't know what it was, but it was there. A calming aura that had just emerged which managed to subdue the hating beast inside me. I smiled his way. A smile that for first time wasn't forced. He returned it, a bit small and with not the same fervor mine held, a smile nonetheless. My eyes returned towards the ruins, devouring every moldy wall, every cracking stone, every column in decay and every mark that was about to disappear. This was like a dream. A palace in ruins just a few steps apart. A palace that had never been discovered even though it laid right before the nose of civilization. To make things better, Truant and I were the only ones who knew of its existence. I couldn't hold back the wish to start investigating this beautiful ancient castle and so I burst ruining towards the ruins, the emotions growing with amazing speed with each step I took.
"COME ON LINK!" I yelled as the ruins got closer and closer. "WE'VE GOT A PROJECT TO FINISH!" I heard the sounds of footsteps behind me and a smile drew on my face once more. Why? I didn't know. I only knew that I found the presence of Truant behind me a comforting one.
The minutes passed and as my eyes ravened each crevice and dent, each wall and floor, the more I fell in love with the culture who had created such a splendorous palace. Soon, the minutes turned to hours and those hours led us to midnight. Truant and I hardly spoke if it wasn't related to what would be included in the project. The majority of the time we spent it taking notes, photographs, drawing and catching down any doubts and questions that surfaced to mind. Even though, I began to even appreciate further Truant's presence. He made quite interesting deductions and his questions led even to profound knowledge. Not only that. He knew things about the palace that at first glance you couldn't even begin to decipher. From where did he get the information? God knows. Yet, I must admit all that he said was quite ground based and believable.
"In this side there used to be a garden, a labyrinth garden. Each corridor was guarded by a Deku knight. It was quite hard to pass through it, let alone get to the other end. Opposite to us led a similar garden, but this one was filled with different sets of fruit bearing trees, while the other was a more flower based one. Yet the concept was the same, make it difficult for trespassers to pass them through." He chuckled. "If the gardens didn't confound you, the guards were likely to capture you and lead you to the dungeons." He then motioned his hair to the far of end of the corridor we stood on. "Down the hallway, laid the throne room." Each thing he said, I absorbed it like a sponge does water. I took notes of every word he ushered. He was like the mighty teacher and I a fateful pupil. Every word I wrote served to satiate my insatiable curiosity. Every thing he whispered was taken in with fervor. Yet, not all my eager learning nature was filled and satisfied. Truant was yet a mystery to me. An intricate mystery that had yet to be solved and that perhaps never will. The main issue revolved around the question of how did he hold so much knowledge of this place. Why share it with me? This palace could be the most amazing discovery of decades. He could held all the credit himself. Why share it with me?
"These marks indicate that here was the place were prisoners and traitors were tortured. With just that clue you can fathom the idea that ill bearers were not to be taken likely. The location of the throne right in front of the torture area indicated that the king thought of himself superior and wished to share that idea with the neighboring populations. He probably viewed it as a form of entertainment. Quite a clear message don't you think? The Dekus aren't merciful folk, you know?"
"What about the cell on this side?"
"I suppose there is where the next tortured must have been held. I assume that the mental break down was the first form of torture, followed by the physical one. Watching what was bound to happen to you mustn't have been quite the relaxation method you needed to face your torturers."
"No mercy, huh?"
"King Deku wished to deliver the message clearly. That it wasn't a wise move to mess with the Deku, let alone the nobility of the Deku Kingdom. Sometimes the best defense for a kingdom is to appear cold and blood-thirsty to the other nations. Yet...for how long those that kind of thinking may endure?" Wise question.
We collected and wrote and took what we could, and found our way, guided by the glowing marks Link had left behind, and made our way towards open road. Apparently, Link had asked the chauffeur of the taxi to pick us up at a certain hour. Quite well thought from Link's part for who would dare to venture at night in the openness of the wild? Not many, I am sure. So, I had Link to thank for the ride back.
The forest at night didn't seem as threatening as it did in the day. The moonlight gave it a strange sense of a mystical place. Maybe it was the lights that glowed in the bark of the trees and the multiple fireflies that floated around. It made the whole scenario seem peaceful and welcoming. Strange that it fitted the forest so well. "So, what comes next?" I asked as we walked out the last couple of trees and into open air. I breathed deeply the cold night air. Although the forest was quite nice, I missed the freshness of the prairie.
"I'll tell you tomorrow." He said dryly. He was tense and looked fixedly at one point at the other side of the road. A light tremor attacked him and I could see small drops of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. He was even paler than normal. Was he about to have another panic attack like the one hours ago?
"Link?"
"Don't speak." He whispered, his sight still set on that point at the other side of the road. My eyes searched for whatever was there. There was nothing but overgrown grass and the occasional tree.
"Link? What do you see? What is..." He shushed me and covered my mouth with one of his pale, shaky hands. With the other one he quickly reached for his cellphone, leaving me amazed that with such speed he hadn't injured one of his fingers and dialed as quickly as his thumb could move. Occasionally, he would glance at the same point at the other side. What was it? What could he see? His trembling was even far more noticeable with his hand on my mouth. I opted not to make a move or sound so that he could find comfort with my obedience. There was something there that made him fear. That or Link was literally crazy. But...since we left the palace I couldn't stop thinking that Link wasn't in fact a looney. Well, a little perhaps. But not a total crackpot like I thought. On the contrary, I now believed him to be the most brilliant mind in the entire school. No wonder he got better grades and scores than I did. The guy was a genius! Not an entirely friendly and amiable genius but a genius nonetheless. There was far more in Link than met the eye and we gave him credit for. He wasn't the kind of man that my peers painted him to be. And who knows? Maybe, after we finish this project, I would get to know the man behind the indifferent and lazy and careless mask. Become his friend and change the perspective the entire school held of him. But that was a problem we should affront later own, for now I just wished to uncover the veil that was Truant and understand Link. Find out if he was really a crazy dumb or not. It wouldn't surprise me if he missed a few screws. After all, most brilliant minds were hand in hand with that touch of insanity, making them even more amazing. Wow. In just one day, Link had managed to alter the image I painted of him. Wondered if insanity was contagious.
"Shit!" Link's yell pulled me out of my thinking. He glanced towards the fixed point as if he could burn it down, the hand that held his phone gripped it with such strength that I feared it would break. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" His other hand uncovered my mouth and took my hand. "Follow me! Don't look back!"
"Link what..." He pulled me with force as we ran down the road.
"Where are you?" He asked as he even stepped up on our pace and glanced back, his visible ice cold blue eye widening as if a dog was at our heels. The voice at the other side of the phone must have said some pretty good news for I felt his hand relaxing a little. His grasp was still firm and his shaking noticeable, but it was a firm grasp even though. "Keep moving when you arrive. We are a bit farther away from the meeting point, but still in the road...Perfect, thanks." He hung up and our velocity increased once more.
"Link what's wrong?" I asked panting. I was getting a bit tired and exhausted. He didn't answer, not even turned to look at me. I was about to scream at him when a pair of lights hit us from behind. I felt Link relax completely and stop. He glanced behind me, over my shoulder and his eyes searched with urgency whatever he had seen. The lights were the taxi he had called and he thanked the chauffeur as he opened the door. After we both were in, we took away back home. Our return was a quiet one even though I did try to start conversation with Link. Something had happened and apparently he wished to remain secretive about it. He didn't even uttered a few words of apology for his attitude. I sighed annoyed, opting to listening to the soothing ballads that played on the taxi's radio. Perhaps this was an episode that showed he was really crazy. Who knows? Besides, we have a few days since we began to get along if you can say it like that. Its yet too soon for him to reveal me his secrets and inner most thoughts. It was to be expected. So, I sighed once more and looked at Link who kept his stare out the window. He was still a bit shaken for his pallor was white and his hands trembled every now and then. It was then when it hit me, I had stop thinking of Link as Truant. I began to see him as Link the person not the character. And the most curious part of it was that I didn't mind it that much.