Holy crap! How long has it been since I posted something on here. Well, I'm not dead if that's what anyone was thinking. I have had some heavy-duty computer issues and couldn't write for a while, and then when I could write I was so back logged with old and new story ideas I couldn't focus on thing. I had no idea what I was going to finish first or if I was going to finish anything any time so. But finally here it is: The fifth chapter of Urban Legend. Enjoy the unfolding of this epic adventure, and hopefully you won't have to wait to long for it to continue.
Legend of Zelda: Urban Legend
Chapter five: New challenges and Old tragedies
Zelda was asleep by the time she arrived at Kakariko Village. It was understandable; Kakariko was over a three hour drive from Castle Town. And with all the stuff on her mind anyone would be pretty tired. Auru shook her awake gently, "Zelda? Zelda, wake up my dear."
Zelda's eyes flutter open as she takes in the surrounding area. She yawns and stretches as she asks, "Are we there yet?"
"Yes, we are." Auru steps out of the car and opens Zelda's door. "Welcome to Kakariko Village." Zelda looked around the relatively small town. Small wouldn't actually be the word she would use to describe Kakariko. It was much smaller than Castle Town, but it looked more like a suburb than anything else. "Comfortable" would probably be the best word she could use to describe the mountain town. It was far less busy when compared to Castle Town, and she kinda liked that. Zelda could see herself enjoying the time she was going to be spending in the village.
Zelda's musings about the town were interrupted but a man calling out to them, "Rusl, Sigmund!" They turn to see a dark skinned man wearing very traditional looking robes standing next to a young girl. "It is good to see you again my friends."
"It's good to see you again as well, Renado." Auru says as he shakes his hand.
Rusl shakes his hand as well and turns to Zelda. "This is Renado. Kakariko's resident Shaman. He'll be teaching you how to use your magic."
Zelda turns to Renado and the shaman bows to her. "Welcome to Kakariko Princess. It's is an honor to meet you. This is my daughter Luda." The girl next to him bows to Zelda as well. Zelda nods to both and smiles, "You will be staying with us for the next week here in my Sanctuary as I instruct you in the ways of Magic. Come I shall show you around the village." Zelda and the two other men followed behind Renado and Luda away from the building the shaman had identified as his Sanctuary; which Zelda assumed was also his home.
Zelda was actually surprised by Renado's appearance. When she heard that a shaman would be teaching her magic, she imagined an old mystic living in a hut outside of the village. But Renado was a rather handsome man in his late thirties, probable around the same age as Rusl. Renado took the time to explain the various shops in town and what Zelda might be interested in while she stayed in Kakariko. After the tour of the "Comfortable" town, Renado returned the visitors to his Sanctuary. The inside of the Sanctuary reminded Zelda of Kakariko itself. It was small, but nice. The downstairs was built as a sort of meditation room with a bonfire in the center. "Father and I sleep up stairs. It may not be the newest house in the village…but its home." Luda said as Zelda looked around the circular room.
"The Sanctuary is in fact the oldest building in Kakariko; belonging to all of its leaders, going all the way back to the Great Impa who founded Kakariko." The name of Kakariko's founder struck a chord with Zelda for some reason. It sounded very familiar ever though she never heard the name before. Ordinarily she would have ignored the feeling, but since realizing who she was anything that had to do with the past seemed relevant. She asked Renado, "Excuse me? Did the Great Impa have any connection to the Princess of Destiny?"
"Why, yes she did." He said to her, not at all bothered by the interruption to his tour. "Impa was said to be the attendant to Queen Zelda I."
"Queen Zelda." She said thoughtfully. "So, she helped…"
"…One of your ancestors." Renado finished her question for her with a smile, "Yes. Now if you will follow me, Princess, I will show you the hotel you will be staying in."
"You mean I won't be staying here with you and Luda?" Zelda asked.
Renado, who had already walked to the door of the Sanctuary, looked back at Zelda, "I'm afraid there is not enough room for you here. But be assured the room I have arranged for you is more than accommodating. Luda," The shaman's young daughter stood at attention. "Zelda and I will return in a few minutes. Prepare some tea for us."
"Yes, father." Luda nodded and went off to do as her father told.
Zelda Rusl and Auru followed Renado out of the Sanctuary and to the hotel less than a block away. Zelda looked over the room she will be staying in for the next week. It was a nice room, it had a good view of Death Mountain, and the wall paper wasn't particularly god-awful. It was a nice room, but there were other things on her mind as she looked the hotel room over. This was all so surreal and Zelda was still having a hard time wrapping her head around the last few days. This all started when she met Link; that was when her life turned in to a fantasy novel. She was the heir to a throne that no long existed. She was the reincarnation of a long dead Queen. And she held one-third of an ancient divine relic. The other two pieces of which belong to a guy she couldn't stop thinking about and her Folklore teacher who is currently trying to kill her. It was hard to believe that just a week ago the only thing Zelda really had to worry about was if she could afford the books for all her classes.
"Zelda…?" She looks up towards the door where Rusl and Renado were standing. Zelda had stopped moving and started staring out of a window completely absorbed in her thoughts. "Me and Auru have to get back to Castle Town. Will you be alright here?" She nodded silently, and Rusl nodded back. The two men walked away. Zelda took another look out the window and then left the room herself.
The four of them gathered around Rusl's squad car to say their good byes. Rusl and Auru shook Renado's hand and turned their attention to Zelda. "We're off," Rusl said to the Princess, "We'll be back in a week to take you back to Castle Town. Good luck." He says as he puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Zelda smiles back at him.
"Good luck my dear." Auru says as he kisses Zelda's hand. She blushes slightly but smiles and nods at him too.
The two men drive off and Zelda and Renado walk back into the Sanctuary. When they enter they see Luda had set up three tea cups on a table in the left side of the room. Renado smiles at his daughter, "Thank you, Luda."
"You're welcome father."
As they sat down at the table, Renado said to Zelda, "We will begin your training tomorrow. I think waiting will help you to become acclimated to your new surroundings and give you a chance to prepare yourself mentally. Will that be acceptable, Princess?"
Zelda nodded after taking a sip from her cup, "Uh, yeah. That'll be fine. And you can just call me Zelda." She said with a warm smile on her face. Renado nodded and the three of them enjoyed the moment of tranquility.
Telma had taken Link Midna and Ashei to an abandoned warehouse not far from where they had their meeting. Ashei had picked the place so as few people as possible would interrupt them. "You do know this is pretty much how every horror movie ever starts, right?" Midna said in her usual sarcastic tone. Link jabs her in the side with his elbow to silence her.
Ashei glared at her before saying, "We need some quite so Link can concentrate. You should consider yourself lucky; me and dad camped out in a cave for two week when he started my training." She added with a smirk.
"Wow, now that's what I call "Father of the Year" material right there." Ashei's glare worsened which Midna returned in full force.
Link, fearing that the two of them might start a fist fight, gets in the middle of them (He will be doing this a lot in the next week) "Uh, so Ashei, wha-what, duh, do you want me to do first?" He asked with a nervous laugh.
"Take a few laps around the building to loosen you up; at least four." Ashei said this while crossing her arms and still staring daggers at Midna.
Midna put her hands on her hips more or less daring the swordswoman to do something. Sensing that something most defiantly would happen should he leave these two alone for any period of time, "Yeah, no problem. Come on Midna." Link grabs the Goth's arm as he tries to leave.
"Link, what are you doing?"
"I think you should run with me. You, uh…you look like you might be putting on a little weight." Midna swiftly kneed Link in the balls sending him to his knees. Ashei did little to cover a snort of amusement from both Link's comment and the repercussions of it. Midna shot Ashei one more dirty look before walking out. Link slowly got back on his feet with his face still contorted in pain. "Ahh, okay. Okay, I deserved that. Midna? Mid?" He looked around still cradling his crotch and didn't see his orange haired friend in sight. "Ah, crap." Exhaling heavily, Link left the warehouse to complete the task Ashei had given him expecting Midna to be out there as well.
Ashei shook her head and muttered to herself, "Pray for me, dad, this ain't gonna be easy." So began Link's training in the art of the sword. And he was not having fun. "This isn't happy fun time, Twigboy. Now get back to work!" That would usually be Ashei's reaction when Link would complain about some exercise he was given and deemed unreasonable. Like running ten miles, working on a heavy bag, lifting weights (And Ashei and Midna would add more weight as he did) and sparing with Ashei.
With only slight variation to the formula, that had basically been Link's life for the past five days. Every muscle in Link's body screamed in pain. More than once Midna had to feed Link his dinner because he either couldn't get off the floor or couldn't move his arms. It was uncomfortable and awkward and neither enjoyed it. As Midna worked the soreness out of Link's arms during his five minute break (The most Ashei ever seemed to give him in between torturous training sessions) Ashei's phone rings. She answers it to find Shad on the other end with more than a fair bit of pride in his usual brogue, "Ashei, Ay've got big news! Is the Hero with yew?"
Ashei looked at Link before answering, "I wouldn't really call him a hero, but yeh the guy Telma and the cop told us about is here." Link just glared at her angry, too tired to do much else.
"Great, put me on speaker. I've got something both of you should hear." Shad relayed over the phone, practically giddy with the news that he has to share.
Ashei took the phone away from her ear and looked at it trying to find whatever button would allow her grant shad his request. She turned the phone over a few times before Midna got fed up and walked over to Ashei and grabbed the phone out of her hand, "Haven't you ever used a phone before?" She asked slightly annoyed.
"I lived in the mountains with my dad for most of my life. Who would I have called if I had one?" Ashei shot back.
Midna rolled her eyes and turned on the speaker function, "Okay, you're on. What's up?"
Shad was quiet for a second, confused by the feminine sounding voice, "Um, ay thought the Hero was a man."
Midna lowered the phone slightly, closed her eyes, and sighed in annoyance. Were all of the people Telma associated with stupid or something? "He is. My name is Midna Moon; I'm Link's friend."
"So Link must be the Hero." Shad cleverly deduced.
"And you must have been in the Ivy League." She countered in a flat tone.
"Why, yes in fact." Shad answered back with a puffed out chest that Midna could very clearly imagine. "Ay was."
Midna rolled her eyes again; not believing that the guy on the phone couldn't tell her comment was submerged in a sea of sarcasm. She threw the phone over her shoulder back to Ashei. Yeah, she was done talking to this person.
Ashei barely managed to catch her phone and ask, "Alright, what is it you wanted to tell us, Shad?"
Midna sat back down and continued trying to bring relief to Link's pained body. (Wow that could be taken in a number of ways) Link on the other hand listened intently to what this Shad guy on the phone was saying as Ashei brought it closer to them. "Well, ay've spent the better part of the last week combing through every book on Hyrulian folklore ay could find to uncover the Dark Lord's identity and discover a way to defeat him…" The line went silent for a moment with only the faint sound of pages turning being audible. Then Shad spoke again, "Ah, there is the usual stuff about him being the wielder of the Triforce of Power and the only Gerudo male, but there's no definitive way to find him. However this is what ay really wanted to tell you." Shad clears his throat before reading a passage from one of his books, "The blessing of Din, the Triforce of Power, gave the Dark Lord strength unlimited and near immortality. It is said that no normal blade can destroy the wielder of Power."
"So this is all pointless," Ashei said, "How do we stop him if normal weapons can't hurt this guy."
"If you would kindly no interrupt me, ay'll tell yew. In nearly every folktale about the Hero and the Dark Lord ay could find they mention a specific weapon. The blade of Evil's bane: The Master sword."
The three of them look at each other, none of them heard of this sword. "What the hell is the Master sword?" Ashei finally asked.
Shad continued his explanation, "According to legend, the Master sword is one of the most powerful weapons in Hyrule's history, and it can only be wielded by the Hero."
"So I find this sword and I can keep Zelda safe?" Link asked, speaking for the first time since Shad called.
Assuming that this new voice was Link, he answered, "Well, hopefully."
Link thought for a minute and no one said anything. Finally, Link stood up, although slowly since he was still in a fair amount of pain, and walked over to Ashei to ask Shad, "Alright, so how do we find it?"
"Ay'm still trying to figure that out. Ay know it's in the Temple of Tyme, ay just don't know where or how to get to it."
"Great." Midna said, "So, what we just sit on our asses until you have your big Eureka moment?"
"No, no. Yew lot have some things to do yerselves. See, finding the Master sword isn't enough. The Hero has to prove that he's worthy of the sword."
"This is going to be a pain in the ass, isn't it?" Midna ask, dreading what Link would have to do to "Prove he's worthy." Whatever the hell that means.
"Well, it won't exactly be easy." He flips through a few pages in his book before continuing, "Ah, here. The legends say that the Master sword will revel itself to the Hero when he gathers the three keys and presents them to the Alter of Tyme."
"Okay so where are the keys?" Link asked
"Ahh…Oh, one is hidden in a Deep forest, another in an ancient forge, and the last is…at the bottom of a lake." Shad gave the location of the last key with clear worry in his voice."
"Did you just say 'the bottom of a lake'!?" Ashei shouted,
"Yep, pain in the ass." Midna threw out.
"That doesn't matter right now. Let's just focus on the first two keys and worry about the third when we get to it." Ashei nodded and Midna just shrugged. Of all the people in the room she had the least invested in this, so she was content with just going along with whatever. Link brought his attention back to Ashei's phone, "Shad, I think I might know where the deep forest is. What do you know about Faron Woods?"
Shad thought about it for a second before answering, "Uh, big, uninhabited, dangerous? Why?"
"I think that might be where the key is."
Shad was silent for another minute while going through some of his books. "There are a number story's connected to that area. And there is the obvious association with Farore. Link, was it? I think yew might be on to something."
"Thanks." Link said with a wide goofy grin.
"Alright, we'll head out for the woods as soon as possible. Thanks for the info Shad." Ashei told the researcher.
"No problem. Good Luck!" And with that Shad hung up.
"Well at least we have chance to see if all this training is worth it. I could use a change of scenery anyway." Link said after Shad hung up.
"Same here, I am bored out of my mind." Midna says walking up to Link and Ashei, "But how are we getting to Faron?"
"Can't we just rent a car?"
"With what money? Between the three of us we have a grand total of twenty Rupees."
"That's not good." Link said scratching the back of his head. He thought about their options until he finally thought of a rather obvious answer, "Telma! We can just ask Telma if we can borrow her car."
"Are you Insane!? Telma will never let us borrow her car."
"Why not? If it'll help you take this Dark Lord guy down, wouldn't she give you just about anything you'd need?" Ashei ask slightly confused by Midna's outburst.
"Actually," Link began, "Now, that I think about it, Mid's kinda got a point. That car is Telma's pride and joy. She never lets anyone drive it but her."
"Are you serious?"
"Oh yeah. There was another guy who worked at the dinner when Link and I first started. Some Ginger jackass named Mido. He scratched Telma's car by accident one day and she fired him on the spot. Hero or not there's no way Telma will let that red monster out of her sight."
"Fan-friggin-tastic." Ashei said, very annoyed by their situation. "Well what the hell do we do now?"
Midna though for a second, then got a mischievous smile on her face as she said, "Y'know, I think I got an idea. Wait here for about two hours or less. But probably less." And with that she ran out of the warehouse leaving Link and Ashei with two very confused looks.
As she said, Midna returned about an hour and twenty minutes later, driving up in a flower delivery van. When she got out Link blurted out, "Where the fuck did you get this!?"
"Do you really what to know?" She answered with a smirk.
Link looked at her for minute before putting his hands up and saying, "Y'know what? No. I really don't. Let's just get going before we get arrested." The three of them piled in to the van and Midna drove off.
Link knew first hand that Hyrule's Southern provinces were half a day's drive, giving him time to heal from the soreness. About halfway to Faron Link started rubbing his bicep, noticing that the soreness was nearly gone. "You okay Link?" Midna asked noticing his movements.
"Yeah no problem. I'm feeling pretty good."
"Really? You sure? I mean, could barely move this morning."
"I know it's pretty much because of this that I'm feeling as good as I am." Link said as he lifted his left hand, indicating he meant his Triforce piece.
Midna glances at his hand before looking back at the road. "So that thing heals you too. Pretty hand those divine artifacts."
Link chuckled slightly from Midna's comment,"Yeah," and then removed his glove to look at the Triforce mark. "Guess it is. This thing healed me after my fight with Zant while I slept. Well at least the smaller cuts and bruises. That big gash on my side was too much for it I guess." Link just noticed it for a second, but Midna visually tensed when he brought up Zant again.
Link had tried several times since his training started to get Midna to talk about Zant. But nothing seemed to work. Still he had to try; he could tell that something about Zant was eating at her. "Hey, Mid…I know you said you didn't want to talk-"
"And what a surprise I still don't." She said bitterly.
Link sighed, disappointed that his friend was still being so closed off. But he once resolved to tie Midna to a chair and make her talk to him. He didn't have any rope, but he was pretty sure Midna wasn't willing to jump out of a moving car just to avoid talking. "Midna look, I don't what about Zant is bugging you, but you can talk to me about it."
Midna just gripped the steering wheel tighter, "I don't want-"
"I know! You don't want to talk. But did you ever think that it might be good for you to let some of this out. You can't just stay bottled up all the time; it's not health." Midna continued to stare at the road before her, and Link wasn't sure if she had turned him out of if she was just taking everything he said in. Either way, Link placed a hand on Midna's shoulder and continued, "I'm your friend, Mid. You can tell me anything." Midna looked at Link with a saddened expression before looking back at the road. She parted her lips as if wanting to say something, but stopped and looked at the rear view mirror. Knowing why she would do this he looked at Ashei then back at Midna with an amused smirk, "Don't worry she's asleep. It's just you and me."
Midna was quite for a minute before taking a deep breath. "Zant is…my brother." Link leaned back in his seat and nodded slowly. It wasn't really that surprising. They did look alike a fair bit, and them being siblings had popped in and out of his mind ever since he suspected a relationship between the two. "Well, technically he's my half-brother. See, he was born like, three years before me. His mom was…she died, when Zant was still a baby. I don't know what happened exactly. Jerik, our dad, doesn't like to talk about it."
"Must run in the family." Link interjected.
Midna glared at Link to which he simply shrugged. She smiled slightly, also seeing the similarities, but not linking them. "Anyway, like I said," She continued, "I don't really know what happened, but I think she might have died protecting Zant from…something…or maybe she died during child birth, I don't know. Either way, I think because of it he blamed Zant for her death. Jerik got re-married a couple years later; after he knocked my mom up. I still don't understand what mom saw in him. Actually, I do. Jerik was someone really high up. A councilman or something I don't care. She wanted an easier life. I can understand that I guess."
"You make it sound like it was so terrible that they got together." Midna didn't say anything. "I mean, if they didn't you wouldn't be here. That's a good thing." She remained silent. "Right?" Link suddenly became very unsure of whether or not he actually wanted Midna to continue. He learned what he wanted to, Zant is her brother. Mystery solved. But this wasn't about his own curiosity anymore. It was about Midna. Whatever it was that Midna was going through when they first met, what she's talking about now was the root of that problem.
"I'm glad…I'm here. With you…and Telma…and even Fado's mentally deficient ass. I'm glad to be alive, if that's what you mean." It was, "I just…have mixed feelings about my family. One hand, I think mom should have just taken me and left Jerik's ass. But, if she had…then Zant would have been left alone…with him." Midna's voice suddenly became very dark and her face transformed into an intense scowl.
She took a moment to collect herself before continuing, "Like I said, Jerik blamed Zant for what happened to his first wife. Everyone in our community knew him as this 'Good natured, upstanding public servant'." Midna talked in a faux proper accent that did little to hide the venom behind her words. "While in privet, he beat his son for taking too long to bring him his sixth beer of the night."
"Oh," Link couldn't think of anything else to say as this information registered in his mind. Midna seemed to be trying to calm herself again so Link asked, "Uh, what about you mom? Didn't she try to say something to stop him?"
Midna scoffed as her anger towards her father was replaced by what he could describe as amused disappointment, "And mess things up with her meal ticket? No." Her expression suddenly became very sad, "No, she just told me not to interfere. She wanted to at least keep me safe. Can't fault her for that. But I just couldn't stand it. So, one night when I was ten I threw an empty beer bottle at his head and dragged Zant into my room. From that point on guess who he beat for not getting his friends beer?"
"Man, that's pretty messed up."
"Yeah. So when I was sixteen, I decided we weren't going to be his punching bags anymore."
Midna silently walked down the hall and pressed her ear to the door of her mother and father's room to check and make sure they were asleep. Thankfully, Jarik snored like a rusty buzz-saw and it was easy to confirm she had the all clear to follow through with her plan. She snuck into Zant's room next and placed her hand over his mouth, simultaneously waking him up and keeping him from shouting. The siblings' burning orange eyes met as Midna gave him the shush gesture to indicate she didn't want him to be too loud. When she pulled her hand away, she said to him, "Get dressed, quickly and quietly. And pack some things. Clothes, books, anything you think you might need for the next few days. We'll raid the fridge before we leave so we'll have something to eat."
Wait, Midna what are you talking about? Where are we going?" Zant asked as he got out of bed.
Midna walked over to his closet and tossed him a shirt and a pair of jeans as she said, "We're leaving, just the two of us. I can't stay in this house anymore. And I can just leave you here. So we're going. Now hurry and get dressed." She grabbed a few more of Zant's clothes and threw them in a trash bag she brought with her. While hesitant at first, Zant complied and stripped down to his underwear. As he was about to take them off, Midna threw a shoe at him saying, "Whoa, leave those on I don't wanna see your junk!"
Zant got dressed and asked, "Midna what are we doing?"
"I told you, we're leaving. Now come on." Midna grabbed Zant's arm and tried to pull him to the door, but he slipped his hand out of her grasp.
She turned to ask what he's doing and yelled as quietly as possible, "What am I doing? Midna, if dad finds out we tried to run away he'd…I don't even know what he'd do. Be it'd be very, very painful I do know that."
"He's not going to find us!" Zant shuffles slightly unsure what to do with himself. Midna's expression softens and walks over to her brother and takes him by the shoulders. "Zant, look. We. Cannot. Stay here. Jarik's not going to find us, trust me."
"How can you be so sure?"
Midna hugs Zant tightly, "Because I'm your sister. That's how." Zant hugs her back and they stay like that for a moment. When they finally separate Midna says, "Get your stuff. Mine is already down stairs." Zant nodded and the two quietly exited the room, down the stairs, and out the door, determined to never return.
"So, how were you so sure your dad wouldn't find you?" Link asked.
"Because me and Zant aren't from Hyrule. I doubt he'd even think to look here."
"Oh, you're from another country. Well that makes sense. I don't think anyone else in Hyrule looks you or Zant."
"It wasn't easy getting to Hyrule. But once we were here we made a promise to always take care of each other. We struggled, but we were so much happier than before." Midna's fiery eyes gleamed as she talked of the few happy moments in her life with her brother.
Link was smiling because of the bright look on the otherwise sour Goth girl's face, but then he remembered the Zant that he knew and fought. "Mid, what happened to Zant after you two came to Hyrule?"
The light in Midna's eyes suddenly dimmed, she knew she couldn't dwell on the good. She had to go into the bad. "We were in Hyrule for two years. We had a comfortable life. I got a GED. I even thought about going to college. Zant just wanted me to be happy. After all the misery we'd gone through, he wanted to pay me back for all the times I stood up for him against Jerik." Midna started to tear up as she came closer to the pain she had been carrying for the past year. She put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from sobbing openly. After taking a moment to collect herself, "I didn't really notice until it was too late. He started bringing in more money; a lot more than his job offered him. And he started being more distant. Then one night he came home…With a gunshot wound."
Midna took another moment before continuing. Link placed an understanding hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to take her time. "He told me to clean the wound for him. I said, 'Shouldn't we go to the hospital?' And he just…he just…I don't know. He started rambling about how everything he did he did for me and how I should be grateful." At this time Midna pulled over to the side of the road and placed her head on the steering wheel as she felt herself becoming over whelmed.
"Midna, maybe you should stop. You don't have to keep going."
"What are you talking about Twigboy?" Ashei said as she woke up noticing they aren't anywhere near the forest. "Why'd we stop? We got stuff to do. Come on let's go." As she was berating the two for wasting time Ashei realized that Midna was just barely keeping herself from crying. "Uh, did I miss something?" She asked Link.
Link looked at Midna's fragile form as she was quickly losing her war against her emotions and the memories of her past. "Ashei, do you think you can wait outside for a few minutes?"
Ashei snapped her head to glare at Link indignantly. "What? Why should I have to-"
"Ashei, please." Link interrupted her tirade, pretty much begging her to give them some time alone.
Ashei looked into Link's eyes and for the first time since she met him could see something in him other than a puny skate rat. Then she looked at Midna in the driver's seat. She may not have liked the Goth, but she couldn't stand to see someone suffer like she obviously was. She nodded silently and got out of the van.
Once the swordswoman was gone, Link turned to Midna again, "Alright look, Mid, I meant what I said. You can just stop here. I don't need to know any more."
Midna stayed in her slumped position, quietly sobbing, until she sat back up, sniffed a few time and said, "No. *Sniff* No. you were right. I need to get this off my chest." Link nodded and leaded back in his seat waiting until Midna was up to continuing. She took a deep breath and fell back into her own seat, "After that, things just kept getting worse. He started lashing out and me, disappearing all day. He never came back with any serious injuries again, but he did get arrested more than once. I always bailed him out. I had to; he's my brother, y'know?" Then one day…he just…left. All his stuff was gone; there was no note, no phone call, nothing. Eventually I got so scared I actually went to the morgue to see if he ended up there. Obviously he didn't. But that's when I met you, Link." She look at her friend with tears streaming down her face. "Sitting in the waiting room with your head down after the accident."
It was surreal for Link to see Midna like this. For the year he's known her he had never seen her cry. Not even in sad movies Anju or Kafei would make them watch. In fact she'd usually mock anyone who did actually cry. She must have built some serious defenses for her to just break down like this. Link got out of his seat and pulled Midna into a tight hug. Midna started crying openly, burying her face in the crook of Link's neck as he gently rubbed her back telling to cry as much as she needs. They were sitting on their knees in between the driver and passenger seats just holding each other as Midna lets a year's worth of grief flood out. After a few minutes Link started thinking out loud, "Y'know, when we first met…There was something that I always wondered about. After I spilled my guts out to you about Marin and everything, I asked if you needed to talk about something. You looked so miserable that day. But you just said that all you needed was for someone to care about you. This is what you meant, isn't it?" Midna nodded silently. "Your parents, well, weren't really parents. And you brother the only person in existence you felt a real connection to just up and left. You were alone in the world. You need someone, anyone to be with you."
"Yeah, that's about it. Thank you so much for being that person, Link." They stayed in a tight embrace for a few more minutes. Finally Midna pulled away, wiped a few tears from her eyes, and said to Link, "I think I'm okay now."
"How are you feeling?"
"Drained. But, you were right. I do feel a little better." She sniffed, taking a second to try and collect herself, and then she saw that a lot of her mascara was now on Link's shirt, "Man I must look like a friggin raccoon right now."
"A little." Link said with a smile.
Midna smiled back and gave Link one more quick hug. "Alright, Get Ashei so we can keep going." She said as she got up and sat back in the driver's seat, "Oh and Link?" He looked at her just as he was settling in his seat, "If you tell anyone about this I'll shove you balls down your throat." She delivered her threat with little to no malice in her voice and a casual inflection that, in a strange way, made it more frightening.
Link looked at Midna with a terrified expression. He wasn't sure if she could make good on her threat, but he figured better safe than castrated. He rolled down the passenger window and called out to Ashei who was leading against a nearby tree. "Hey Ash-" His voice was cracked slightly out of fear, but he cleared his throat and tried again, "Hey Ashei, we're done talking. You can get in now."
Ashei, very clearly annoyed by the impromptu diversion, climbed back into the back of the van. When she had herself settled, Midna drove off towards Faron Woods again. "So, you guys gonna tell me what that was all about?"
Link looked over to Midna and she just gave him a sideways glance. He snapped his head forward and blurted out, "Nope!" The remaining drive was in complete silence.
By the time they arrived in Faron province it was nearly night fall. Ashei and Link spent their last twenty rupees on gas for their return trip while Midna went into the bathroom to clean herself up. While they waited for the gas tank to fill, Ashei asked Link, "What was up with Midna?"
Link looked at her somewhat surprised, "Heh didn't know you cared."
"I don't. I just don't want some emotionally unstable in the middle of a dark forest. Isn't that what happens in a lot of horror movies too?" She countered defensively.
'Wow, she held on to that one.' Link thought, "She fine. I just…kinda helped her knock down a wall with a lot behind it." Ashei wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he didn't want to tell her it was obviously something personal between them. Midna came out of the bathroom clear of the black marks on her face. Link walked up to her and asked, "You ready to move on?" Midna hesitated to nod not entirely sure in which sense of "moving on" she was ready for. "Alright then. Let get going." Ashei and Midna both made their way back to the van when Link stopped them. "Uh yeah, we're not taking the van."
They both look back at him confused, "What do you mean we're not taking the van?" Midna asked.
"We're walking from here." And with that he took off down the road.
The two girls walked behind him as he seemed to know what he was doing. Ashei asked, "Is there a particular reason we're not using the stolen van to drive through the dark, dangerous, unknown forest filled with all kinds of wild animals and Din knows what else?"
"Two reasons: One, the entrance to the Faron Woods is not a mile away from here. And two, the van wouldn't have fit even if we had brought it." Ashei and Midna continued to walk behind Link exchanging confused looks.
Although the confusion cleared up when they came to a cave mouth that Link identified as the way into Faron Woods. "Okay, I see your point." Ashei said realizing what Link meant. With his usual goofy lopsided grin plastered on Link's face, the three of them entered the cave that would hopefully take them to the first key, whatever it was.
Very emotional this chapter. Originally I was going to put a little more information in to Link and Midna's talk like Zant being mentally unstable, that they lived in the Twilight Realm, and the fact that, like Zant, Midna also has magic. But I couldn't figure out a way to put those things in without fucking up the flow of the narrative. Because nothing kills pacing like forced exposition. Also I originally wanted Link, Midna, and Ashei to go through Faron during this chapter but realized that with everything I wanted to do with Faron it would have been really friggin long, so I just cut it off at them entering Faron Woods. Okay that's about it for my rambling, thanks for anyone who is reading the next chapter will be up as soon as possible, in the mean time why don't you leave a review or Favorite this shit. Come on it'll be fun.