First of all thank you to Carriedreamer, SuperGoatGrl, Shrine Keeper of Rei Ayanami, Yuleen75, Quinkilo1055, Lee Totema, Booklover13, I.K.A.Valian and La Generala for your reviews, suggestions and advice. I really do appreciate everyone putting in the effort and time to review and I hope you will continue to help me improve my work (and help me rein in my over-happy typing fingers when my imagination gets the better of me... :P)
Finally, I am sorry for not updating last Thursday as I had initially intended, although I did write this chapter two weeks ago, having read your reviews I decided to rework it a little, therefore I hope it makes better sense, is a little more amusing and the promised Zelink moment is not too OTT, or bolted on. Anyway, back to the story... and thanks again :)
Chapter Fifteen - The Stuff of Nightmares
Gasping for breath, shivering and soaked to the bone, Zelda scrambled to her feet and raised her hands to protect herself. There was an eerie darkness all around her, and the air was silent and airless. She noticed she was standing on soft ground. She also realised that she had returned to her normal, plain-clothed self. Slowly, as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw two shimmering orbs of shadowy gold floating some way in front of her.
"Hello?" She called into the darkness. The orbs neither moved nor blinked, they just remained fixed in her line of vision. Zelda shuddered and felt around her for any kind of exit. Her hands cut through the thick air, but she could feel nothing above, below or to the side of her. The floor was soft and a faint scent of rot drifted up from it. She reckoned she was deep in the heart of the ancient tree. The two orbs watched on silently. "Is…anyone there?"
Far across the room, there came the noise of soft laughter. "The answer to that should be obvious. I will not harm you. You do not need to stand so cold and afraid in the awning of my darkness. Come into the light so that I may see you for myself."
"Who are you?"
"I shall tell you when you come here." The voice was gentle, yet cruel. Sweet, yet bitter. It seemed to come from all around her head, but also from directly in front of her. It came from the two orbs. Cautiously she stepped forward. As she walked, the darkness thickened and the air got colder and damper. Shivering with cold, Zelda hugged her arms around herself; trying to capture whatever warmth she had left inside her. It was a futile attempt.
As she walked steadily forward, a soft blue light began glowing in the distance. The two orbs remained fixed steadily on her, glowing eerily in the darkness. The closer she got, the brighter they shone. The thick air blurred the edges of the orbs slightly and absorbed any sounds. Her footsteps were swallowed up in the enveloping darkness. Her breathing echoed in her ears like the soft thudding of her heart. Zelda swallowed again and took a deep breath, the air was at its darkest and thickest. It filled her lungs with a pungent smell of fear and damp, and it made her cough. She reached her hands forward and closed her eyes and took a step forward.
Suddenly the thick air thinned. She opened her eyes. It was still very dark, but the air was clean, cold and crisp. It no longer pressed down on her and pushed in on her but it did make her shiver. Her footsteps echoed off the tiled floor. Ahead of her, the two blue lanterns flickered coolly. Their flame serving as a light, not as a heat source, but Zelda did not pay any attention to them. She concentrated on the figure standing exactly between the two golden lamp-stands.
The woman was tall and slender, and clothed in elaborate crimson robes. She was even more beautiful in life than she had been as a reflection. Her dark hair curled around her body in long waves, and her body glistened as if lit by a thousand diamonds. She had an aura of great sadness. This emotion shimmered in her golden eyes as she gazed upon Zelda. Again, a soft smile tilted the corners of her reddened lips as Zelda bowed respectfully in greeting.
She inclined her head in response but made no attempt at making conversation. Zelda had the strangest feeling that the woman was searching through her very soul – tearing it apart to seek what she desired.
"Who are you?" Whispered Zelda, unable to take any more of the woman's intense scrutiny.
"Who I am is unimportant. What matters is why you are here." Replied the woman. Her voice was wild and deep and echoed with a bitter chill. She smiled thinly at Zelda, and said, "I wished to meet the one who awakened me from my slumber. I wished to speak to the one who has made The Oath. Who are you?"
"I-I am Zelda." She stammered. "But as to waking you… I don't know of what you speak."
"Did you not use my power in the forest? Are you not wearing my Oath Emerald?" The woman's eyes flashed again and the ends of her hair lifted slightly, as if stirred by a breeze.
"I don't understand." Complained Zelda, quietly. "You speak in riddles."
"Do I?" The woman smiled, a little oddly, and turned away. "Perhaps it is that you are ignorant of what you have done. I find that difficult to accept. After defeating Remeil you must have known what that signet ring really meant."
"Who is Remeil?" Asked Zelda, confused. This earned her a long, thoughtful look from the beautiful woman. Her eyes glistened like stars at the edges and Zelda again had the strangest feeling that her memory was being searched. It was not a feeling she particularly enjoyed.
"Remeil - the Dream Snatcher cursed to live in the Forest and keeper of the Emerald Oath Ring, did he not speak of me?"
"I've never met anybody called Remeil, and I don't know what in the world you are talking about. Please may I go now?" Pleaded Zelda. She hugged her arms a little tighter around herself and clenched her teeth in an attempt to stop them chattering.
"No. You may not go. I am determined to seek the truth from you." Said the woman, angrily. "I wish to know where Aranda, Lukarn, Tolmei, Ulusta, Gorban and Xeial are."
"Who?"
"The Dream Snatchers." She replied, exasperated. "What have you done with them? Why am I awake but yet enchained? If you have defeated them…"
"Um, I've not defeated anybody and I've never heard of a Dream Snatcher." Said Zelda, slowly. She wondered if it was actually possible to attempt an escape and again cursed her luck for somehow always ending up running into life's lunatics. She mentally compared the creature before her to Link, and (alas) found some rather disturbing similarities. She shared his mental instability, but was the overall winner in the 'How crazy is this person?' stakes, with her freaky glowing eyes and hair-with-a-life-of-its-own.
"But how do you have the Emerald if you have not defeated Remeil?" Asked the woman. Zelda hastily explained the basic circumstances around the acquisition of the signet ring currently stuck on her finger. The woman took this in, "This 'Tingle' creature – is he a great warrior? Could he have fought and defeated Remeil?" She asked.
Zelda snorted, and shook her head.
The woman rubbed her chin thoughtfully and gazed at Zelda in wonderment. "Could providence really have guided you to me?" She whispered. "Did the Emerald really find you? Are you truly the Golden Light of Hyrule?"
"Again with the riddles." Said Zelda, dryly. "As much as I love a good conundrum, and I do, I would really prefer to leave now. I need to find some dry clothes and all, so if it's alright, I'll be off now."
The woman's eyes flashed with anger, and turned black. "Oh no, you are not leaving until I find what I seek. If you have not met Remeil, then I do not know why you have the first key. The first key is the ring that you are wearing. It was dormant until you used my power. That has woken me from my imposed slumber. You used that power when you made over your body into something it is not. You put on a superficial layer of skin to fool the world. That is the first of my powers."
"What?"
"You transformed into a…let me see…ah yes, a great fairy. You wished to the Emerald to do this and I heard your dream and granted it. In return for this favour, you are now bound to answer my plea. You must rescue me from this prison."
"But I…" Began Zelda, and then she sighed "…I don't understand…"
"You took Remiel's Signet ring from his hand, whether literally or figuratively. You did so when you used my power to change yourself. You have taken from me and have woken me from my slumber. That means that you are the great sage who was to come – the Golden Light, the one who has the strength to use my magic, and release me from my bonds. By using that you have made an pact with the gods to unbind my heart – to undo what the Dream Snatchers did to me."
"I haven't made any pact and I am not going to make a pact." Retorted Zelda. She gave the woman a defiant look.
"You used my powers." She repeated. "Whether or not you wished to make an pact with me, you have done so. There is no denying that." She smiled softly and looked at her fingers, "For too long have I slept in this darkness. I long to see the light of the world again. I long to roam through the wilderness and dance through the skies. You are destined to be my Golden Light. Without me you are a cursed creature. With me, you will be a goddess."
"I don't want to be a goddess."
"Do you want to be cursed?"
"Of course not."
"Well then you must do exactly as I tell you. At this moment, you are cursed. You are like me, bound to the will of the Dream Snatchers. Only by defeating them can you free my stone heart, and only when that is accomplished will your curse be lifted"
Zelda sighed and shivered. It would be nice, she thought ruefully, if just once somebody could talk to her in words that made sense. The creature was clearly as mad as Link and spoke with as much sense as Tingle. How she had managed to become involved with any of them was beyond her. The woman was watching her casually, a slight smile on her mouth. "Who are you?" Asked Zelda.
The woman smiled, a little cruelly, "You may call me Saeru, although that is not my true name. I am told I am a blight and a nuisance. My heart is a treacherous thing, but what heart is not? I am no more wicked than he who did this to me. He was the one that stole my heart and locked me away." She paused and sighed, "My people have long forgotten me and my deeds. I was once revered as a goddess. I had the power to control and create dreams, and at my strongest, I could make them reality. I could become anything imaginable; I could adapt myself, and my surroundings, to suit the needs and wants of others. The one of cursed me - Lefestra - tricked me into helping him fight the Hylians, but in reality he wanted my power for himself. He stole away my heart and eventually confined me to this prison."
"Why, if you were a goddess, did you let yourself be deceived?" Queried Zelda. "Wouldn't you have seen what he was trying to do to you?"
Saeru's mouth curved into a rueful smile and she sighed again. "Lefestra was just one of those men." She said, softly. "I did not know what he was really up to until it was too late, so all I could do was protect myself as best I could and limit the damage he did. I could not save my heart, for he had stolen it long ago, but I vowed to have my revenge. I cursed my heart he had stolen and sheilded it with a barrier of magic. I gave each of his Hylian enemies a key to this lock, and they each made an oath to me to never surrender to Lefestra, for he knew that if all seven rings were reunited, the seal on my heart would be broken and he could use my power once more. In return, I would grant each one of them a portion of my magic – a different ability, if you like."
She smiled again, a little cruelly. "I knew that they were all plotting against me with Lefestra, and so I tricked them. They did not know my power was cursed until it was too late. When they tried to side with Lefestra, my magic twisted and contorted their bodies into the demons they feared the most. They became known collectively as the Dream Snatchers, for they were creatures of nightmares. They fled into the shadows of Hyrule."
"For this, Lefestra banished me into this hateful darkness, and forced me into a deep sleep so I could no longer interfere with his plans. I promised him that one day there would be a sage born stronger than him, and into her I would pour my strength. She would destroy him and the Dream Snatchers and would set me free. Only she would be able to use the keys I made. That sage is you, Zelda. I give you my oath that should you help me, I will not only grant you all my power, but I will also make your dreams come true." With these words, Saeru knelt before Zelda and bowed her head. Unfortunately, that meant she did not see the look that crossed Zelda's face. It was something akin to amused incredulity.
"I hate to break it to you, for that was a lovely story, but I have never heard of Lefestra, or the Dream Snatchers, or you, and I know all Hyrule's history." Said Zelda, gently.
"Yes, I know." Laughed Saeru, as she stood. "The only reason I am trapped here is because the final spell was cast on Hylian soil. Lefestra had to crawl home like the worm he was, with his useless trophy he fought so hard to gain, and mull over his loss. He never returned to Hyrule. I did not say that I am a Hylian Goddess or that Lefestra was a Hylian sage. ."
Somehow Zelda had a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard those words, it reminded her forcibly of something she had heard only recently. Something about not being a Hylian…"Was he Catalian?" She asked.
Saeru only smiled in response, her eyes fluctuating between black and gold. "He was a King and a Sage, such men are only born to the wild winds of Catalia. His bloodline was ancient and his magic strong. But he used it all in cursing me. He could never return to face the Dream Snatchers but he knew, as I did, that one day I would be woken from my slumber. Somebody would confront the Dream Snatchers and defeat them. And I would find them and break free from my prison. My strength would once more be my own."
"Of course, he wanted to be sure that his bloodline would then be on hand when my barrier spell was broken, so he had my stone heart immortalised as a treasure for his heirs. Even after his passing, he still wants to control my power." She smiled at Zelda, "I know that the oath you made was not of your making but it was made all the same. You have used my power, just like the Dream Snatchers did, and you are bound to me. Will you help me?"
"Sure, why not?" Replied Zelda, airily. "I mean, what harm could freeing a vengeful forgotten goddess do?"
"Oh, I am not bad I promise! The alternative is that you will be turned into a demon, just like the Dream Snatchers were. You will become the thing you fear the most." Saeru smiled serenely at her. "You have no choice really."
"Do you mean I will become Tingle if I don't help you?" Asked Zelda, nervously.
"If that is the thing you fear most, then yes. I am sorry that you are cursed too but I promise to help you along the way." She smiled. "The Dream Snatchers were scattered into the deepest, darkest places in Hyrule…"
"They would be." Muttered Zelda.
"Eh?" Saeru frowned a little and shrugged, "Anyway, if you can find and defeat them, you can take their signet rings and when you have all seven, you can unlock the lock that surrounds my heart, and I can have my power back."
"Just so I know…" Began Zelda, cautiously, "What exactly is your power…?"
"My power is many things to many people. It changes and conforms to whatever is needed. My heart turned to stone when it was stolen but my true strength still resonates in its depths. Whoever holds my heart has my full power, they can become anything they desire for I am a Chameleon."
"So your heart of stone would be more commonly known as…?"
"The Chameleon Stone." Replied Saeru, with a smirk. Her eyes glowed in the darkness. "Throughout the years, even as I slept, I still sensed the dreams and thoughts of those who would seek me. I know that there are still those who know of my legend. There are still those who seek me out, but there is only one who could awaken me. And now that you have woken me, child, there will be others who possess enough magic to piece together the seven rings and break the lock on the Chameleon Stone. If you do not do it, then somebody else will and I will be forced to grant their dreams instead."
"Great." Said Zelda. "I really don't have a choice then." Saeru smiled. Zelda sighed. "I suppose I cannot let your power fall into the wrong hands, can I?"
"Nope."
"And I can't just leave this be." Mused Zelda. "Why is it always me? I didn't even know I was a sage until a few days ago. I swear I am going to kill Link when I next see him. I know this is all his stupid Catalian fault!"
"Link? Who is Link?" Asked Saeru, confused.
"An Idiot." She replied, with some heat. A smile curved her mouth. "He's definitely one of those men!"
"And he is Catalian?" She wondered. "Now that is interesting. I wonder if Lefestra…no..." She pressed her lips together and gazed at Zelda, "You would be well rid of him!"
"I know."
"I could grant you the power to…"
"Peace." Said Zelda, laughing. "I do not really intend to harm him. It would be like kicking a puppy. Although he is exasperating and annoying, he is also sweet and can be endearing when he wants to be."
"Is he handsome?" Asked Saeru, suspiciously.
"I suppose so, at least, he tells me he is lamentably so." Answered Zelda. "He's one of these lanky golden-haired, blue-eyed, crazy types."
"He sounds dangerous." Warned Saeru. "Do not be taken in by his wiles."
"I will not be taken in by any man. I hope I am wiser than that. Besides, he is insane." Said Zelda, trying her best to keep her voice light and amused. "That makes him ineligable."
Saeru gave her a long look, but did not make any further comment. After a moment, she continued with her lesson, "The Emerald is yours to use. It can impose a superficial change on you – your clothing and body may change, but your face and nature will remain the same. It is the first of my power and a mere scratch at the surface of what I can do. I believe Aranda fled to the fiery pits of Death Mountain. You may find he is still there. You should go there next…"
"But I…"
"I would also advise you not to dally." She smirked again. "I will see you again once when you obtain the next Signet Ring."
"WAIT!" Called Zelda, as Saeru began to vanish into the darkness. "How do I…leave?" But there was no answer. There was nothing there. No Saeru, no blue lanterns nothing. The darkness that had been banished by the gentle, cold glow of Saeru's lanterns began to crowd back in on Zelda. A feeling of cold began to spread through her veins. She shivered again. Saeru's conversation had distracted her from the fact she was still dripping wet. She gazed at her hands, her fingers felt numb with cold. She wondered if the Emerald had the power to transform her into a dry version of herself. Somehow, she didn't want to try using the magic if she could help it.
She sat on the floor and almost wished that Link were there so that she could conjure up a nice fireball-fire. Without his help, she seemed incapable of performing any tricks. She would ask Saeru about that the next time they met. That was, of course, if she ever saw her again. Which she was beginning to doubt.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and curled herself into a nice tight ball, hoping that somehow she would manage to regain some of her lost body temperature. Her teeth began chattering, and her hair felt like icicles on her back. She closed her eyes.
She awoke a little later to the feeling of having something warm wrapped around her. She would have jumped in shock, but she appeared to be frozen. She didn't even flinch when she felt a warm hand slide around her shoulder and felt a large presence kneeling next to her. Instead, she decided to share her cold, damp, miserable-ness with this other being, and she returned the embrace with some force.
"Are you alright?" Came Link's familiar, and (almost) welcome voice.
"U-uh…huh…" She managed to chatter.
"Are you sure - you are hugging me, Princess!" He remarked, humorously. When she only clung on tighter to him, he knew something was terribly wrong. ""You're freezing." He remarked, "Why are you so wet? And is it really necessary to share this lovely freezy-cold embrace with me?"
"Y-y-yes." She shivered. "You deserve it…"
"Why?" Link had somehow managed to wrap his whole self around her, in an effort to get her warm again, and he pressed his cheek against hers. She shuddered more violently.
"Your fault…" She stammered through chattering teeth.
"My fault?" Repeated Link, outraged. "Really, I don't know what else I could have done for you! You are the one who ran off into the Great Deku tree's mouth. I had to endure a song from the Maku tree, a lecture from her brother about how stupid I was for letting you escape from my view, and then to top it off I have spent the last hour or so swanning about in this stupid smelly Deku tree, looking for keys, killing keese and skulltulas (which by the way goes against my principles – they would have been beautiful pets) and solving puzzles – which is never my forte. Then, if that wasn't enough, I actually had to work with Mido to kill this stupidly big Spidery thing that we found in the darkest basement. I didn't even have the chance to try to tame it. Mido said it wanted to eat me but I doubt that. It sounded like it was saying "Remeil, where Oath Ring?". Mido said it sounded more like "You're my meal, where's the Oat Thing?" Anyway, it was all to find you! And then, I had to break through this weird glass door to get to you, and I cut my shoulder and will no doubt be scarred for life at the spot where Mido accidentally shot me with that little slingshot of his. And what do I get in return? A Zelda frozen blue with cold, sopping wet, blaming me for her misfortunes."
She felt him grinning against her cheek and another involuntary shiver ran down her spine, "I suppose it's worth it though! At least now I won't have to have a bath when I get back to the Kokiri village. You've already doused me."
"I-I'm sorry…" She muttered.
She felt him move away and shivered again. "You're not crying are you?" He asked, suspiciously.
"N-No." She retorted. She realised he had only moved away to have a proper look at her. She met his eyes with a defiant look but he could hear her teeth chattering. He grinned at her and then said as felt himself starting to shiver. "Right, that's it – time to get you warm." He stood up and removed his shirt, tunic, boots and precious gauntlets and dropped them at her feet in a heap. "Put those on. I can't guarantee they're entirely clean 'cause I have just been fighting but they are warm and dry(ish)."
"But…"
"No buts. Just obey me." He ordered.
"Your clothes will get wet so how will that help?" She complained.
"Would you rather me suggest you take your own clothes off first then my clothes wouldn't get wet?" He asked, mischievously. He only grinned more as she gave him a very telling look and said, "I thought so. It isn't a bad idea though…" She met his eyes again and he grinned. "I won't look if you want to change clothes. Knights honour and all that."
She hugged her knees for a moment trying to drag her mind away from the pleasant thought of warm, dry(ish) clothes compared with her current cold, soaked ones. She won the battle for all of five seconds then finally admitted defeat. She made him turn away, quickly and silently stripped off her robe and dressed in Link's things. She hadn't realised until that point that he was so much bigger than her, but she was thankful for it, otherwise she would have been severely compromised. His tunic and shirt kept slipping from off her shoulder and boots kept falling off her feet, but at least she could keep the gauntlets on her hands.
"See – I behaved myself!" He said as he smirked, true to his word he hadn't actually spied on her. "Do you feel warmer?"
She nodded, trying not to be distracted by the fact that Link was now stood before her, naked from the waist up. She couldn't help but stare at him. She shivered again as he wrapped his long (slightly battered) cloak around her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "I'm glad you're okay." He whispered and then, to her great surprise, he gently kissed her forehead. He pulled back and smiled. "What, no lightning? No fire raining down on me? Where's my real Zelda gone?"
"I'm not your Zelda." She said, mutinously.
"Ah, there you are!" He laughed. "You know, if you're not going to play around casting fireballs at me, the next best way to get warm is to run! C'mon!"
She managed about five steps before dropping to her knees, a combination of stress, exhaustion and coldness taking over her. Link gazed at her for a puzzled moment, before helping her to her feet again. And then he did something she had not expected, he scooped her into his arms and carried her all the way out into the sunlight.
The Maku tree's reaction to the sight of her beloved, now partially clothed, Linkipoo strolling into the forest carrying a partially clothed Zelda (who not only had the audacity to have her arms wrapped around his neck, but was also leaning against him) was not happy. It was only to be expected. Her screeches were so loud that far across Hyrule, in the darkest deepest dungeon of Hyrule Castle where Ganondorf was watching the entire back catalogue of his favourite sitcom "Enemies", every piece of glass – including Kotate's crystal vision-ball – shattered into a fine dust. On seeing that, not only had his favourite show been interrupted but also his only means of watching the said show had been destroyed too, Ganondorf's mind went 'snap' and he was found some time later lay on the floor, naked apart from a pair of yellow polka-dot boxer shorts, rocking from side to side, giggling maniacally. It took a lot of magic to restore him to his usually adorably evil self.
Zelda found the solution to the screaming tree problem was quite simple. Link's sensitive ears were so revolted against the noise that his body went into panic mode. Unfortunately, he dropped Zelda and, as she hit the hard ground, her powers returned. And with her powers, she accidentally set fire to the female Maku Tree.
When the commotion had died down, the severely singed tree had begged the Great Deku Tree to banish the pair of evil, heartless Hylians from the sacred forest eternally. Unfortunately, the Great Deku tree had been paralysed by that first evil screech (which had reminded him forcibly of the ungodly voices of an army of un-dead mummies) and he refused to even look at her. His eyes were screwed shut, his mouth locked open, his bark an unearthly grey and the leaves all shook from his body. Weeping, the tree then turned to her brother.
Unfortunately, the male Maku tree was so outraged by the dreadful noise his sister made, he had gone back to sleep in protest and refused to wake up. The Kokiri had fled and had shut themselves into their homes, hiding under their beds. That left her with Tingle.
On being promised entry into the forest for life and a real fairy, Tingle was swayed. Even the sight of Link's furious, slightly deranged look, could not put him off the proposed treat. He came at the pair of them armed with a balloon.
This was too much for Zelda to take. She had had a long day. She was tired, confused, cold, wet and hungry. To be attacked at such a moment by a little (freaky) lunatic, armed only with a map, an inane grin and a balloon tipped her over the edge. She suddenly found herself casting fireballs at Tingle, who had no chance of dodging them. The first fireball set the Maku tree alight again, the second set fire to the shrubs all around the clearing. The third hit Tingle right on the bottom, setting his clothes off into a merry little blaze. Screaming Tingle ran off in the direction of the village, jumping and howling all the way.
"You never cease to amaze me!" Murmured Link, as Zelda tried to recover her giggles. "Can you control the fireballs now?" Zelda shrugged, unable to answer that, she really didn't know how she'd created such powerful magic, but it had been fun all the same. Link smiled and looked back at the forest. "You know, I think we'd better leave." He added.
"Yeah." Agreed Zelda, as she followed his gaze. A faint orange glow could be seen from the Kokiri Village and there were some ominous noises, like crashes, and yells and screeches, and angry mobs being formed. Whilst she was sure she would be pardoned for setting the Maku tree on fire (twice), she was certain that unleashing a flaming Tingle on the unsuspecting Kokiri would be seen as an unforgivable sin. She didn't think that she and Link would be welcome back in the Kokiri village any time soon.
She took one last look at the Burnt Maku Tree (who had only succeeded in putting out the fire on her bark by crying profusely), the sleeping Maku Tree (who's eyes were still suspiciously, and tightly, closed) and the Great Deku Tree, who looked rather withered, and smiled. "Somehow I won't miss this place." She said.
Link followed her gaze and shuddered. "Nah, me neither."
So there ya go - I hope my explanation of what the Chameleon Stone is made sense?! I just wanted to do a quick overview of it, Saeru and various other characters will fill in the missing pieces of the story later. And please tell me if you think the Zelink moment was OTT, because I am not entirely convinced about it myself and I would appreciate the feedback. Thanks for reading XX
