A huge thank you to la Generala, QuinKilo1055, Link's Ocarina Babe, Giant-flying-radish-of-doom and Mysterygal3189 for filling my life with a warm fuzzy feeling for your reviews! I really do appreciate any feedback you guys give me, even if it's to say I'm mental (or the story is!) anyway, I'm not fishing for compliments, of course, but please do feel free to review (and make me happy!)
A happy author updates more frequently :P
Er, anyways, here's the latest installment: Get ready to meet the Final Dream Snatcher....
Chapter Thirty One – Xeial
"Do you ever get the feeling we are being followed?"
"No."
Rauru glanced around nervously and shuddered to himself. Somehow Impa's cold reaction to his question wasn't really very reassuring. She stalked ahead of him, head held high despite the drizzle, which coated everything in tiny droplets of cold rain. Rauru walked with his fellow judge, Kru, a few safe paces behind her. Ever since they had left Aganhim's stronghold, her temper had been alarmingly volatile. Neither he nor Kru wanted to do anything to exacerbate the situation.
"I just wish that stupid axel hadn't broken." Muttered Kru, almost to himself. Impa turned and glared at him and he backed away slightly. That the broken axel that led to their carriage toppling over, their two horses becoming lame and their journey time being quadrupled was not his fault, but the way Impa looked at him almost made him believe it was. Rauru shot him a sympathetic look and tried not to feel deflated as his boots sank into a deep patch of mud. He turned to Rauru and noted his friend's face was alarmingly pale. "Is something wrong?" He asked.
"I just feel like there is something…trailing us…" He said, trying in vain to capture Impa's attention. She glared at him too.
"I don't care." She snapped. She stopped and sighed. "Look, I know this is not the best situation and believe me I am as tired as I am certain you are. These last few days have been very trying but don't you see – there is something more important than any of us at stake here. If we can help, then it is our duty as Judges, elected by the people themselves, to do something to assist. It is not just because she is danger that I run to Zelda's side – it is because she is our only hope of righting the wrongs of this nation. You know that as well as I do - we must rescue her."
Rauru blinked in surprise at his rare glimpse of Impa: The Human. Only he knew how tired she was to even consider uttering such an open statement. For her that was almost pleading for their help. He knew, of course, that she did actually care for Zelda as if she was her own daughter, though she did have a rather odd way of showing it, and imagined that this ordeal was rather harrowing for her. She grimaced slightly and straightened her shoulders. "If we are being followed, there is nothing we can do about it, Rauru. We must proceed to the castle."
"I know." Rauru took a wary step forward. He was acutely conscious of the way his colleague could, and often did, change on a whim. Though she seemed as vulnerable as a kitten at the moment, the next second she could become as fearsome as a lioness again. He tentatively patted her arm and smiled. "We'll be alright. I am sure that nothing bad will happen to Zelda. She is too valuable too Ganondorf for him to want to hurt her and as far as we know, Link is still with her."
"If that moron is her only protection then may the goddesses help her!"
"Um, Impa, I don't…ah…know if it escaped your attention when we…er…last….saw your delightful ward….but…er…"
"Spit it out, Rauru."
Kru ambled forward at this point and helpfully pointed out what Rauru had been attempting to say. "It was pretty obvious the boy was in love with her."
"Not true." Began Impa before suddenly stopping and glaring into the distance, she remembered what the other two did not know. When they had last seen the young couple, they had been trapped in each other's bodies. That meant that her esteemed companions had thought Link – who was actually Zelda at the time – was in love with Zelda – who had been Link. That meant, unless Zelda had developed extreme narcissistic tendencies during her month of freedom, she had been exhibited some undesirable behaviour. The very idea that her ward could be stupid enough be infatuated with such a wayward idiot as Link was so ridiculous Impa almost sniggered aloud. She contented herself with a contemptuous snort instead and asked her fellows what their deluded imaginings had to do with anything.
"Well, I suppose if he is in love with her, there is nothing he won't do to protect her, so therefore I suppose if she is with him, then she will be safe." Supposed Kru, trying very hard to avoid meeting Impa's eyes. He coughed politely and continued nervously, "I know we dislike him and he is not a desirable party to even be considered as a potential suitor, even if he is a descendant of a Calatian King, which I doubt, but if he loves her…"
"Shut up, Kru." Snapped Impa. She had heard more than enough of his ramblings for one morning. She could barely put up with him at the best of times, let alone on a rainy morning when she had spent the best part of the night before tramping across the vast fields of Hyrule with only a very inadequate raincoat to protect her.
"Kru's right." Rauru added, he manfully met Impa's eyes for a second. She was almost surprised by his bravery (or foolhardiness). "We might not like it but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if the Calatian Prince made an off…"
"I dare you to continue that sentence. I just dare you." Growled Impa. Her eyes had narrowed to a point where they had almost closed. Rauru gulped and felt suddenly that his collar was too tight. He backed away from her slightly. She glared at him until his chubby face was as white as his beard and then snorted. "Calatian Prince indeed. You sound as stupid as him. Zelda needs rescuing from that imbecile more than anything else and…now what is it, Kru?"
"Much as I dislike stating the obvious, my dear Impa but didn't you employ Link? Not only that but didn't you employ him without first consulting us, which to this day I still hold as an example of a gross affront, an example that will not soon be forgotten by this…" He met Rauru's eyes and saw the clear message emblazoned in his panic-filled eyes and immediately stopped his tirade. Now was not the time to drag up past insults and fling them in the face of the touchy judge. "Er…anyway, it matters not." He finished lamely.
"No-no, please. I insist – what was the point you were so desperate to make before my good fellow judge, Rauru, so rudely cut you off?" Impa smiled with such false sweetness that Kru visible shuddered.
"Um…it doesn't matter." He answered.
"Tell me, Kru."
" I don't think I will."
"Won't you now?"
Rauru feebly interjected at this moment, pointing out the inclemency of the weather and the urgency of their mission but his fellows paid him no heed. He wished there was a way of silencing the pair so they could continue their unpleasant journey in relative peace. It was like travelling very slowly with a pair of petulant school children. He just wasn't the man to control them. Daphnes, Zelda's grandfather, had been excellent at curbing Impa's temper and Kru's peevishness.
Kru's peevishness was being clearly demonstrated. It seemed to naturally react to Impa's temper. The angrier she got, the more Kru tried (and generally succeeded) to annoy her. It was a vicious circle and there was nothing Rauru could do to stop one of their full blown rows.
"TELL ME NOW, YOU BAG OF PUTRID, ROTTING CUCCO LOVE SACKS"
"HOW DARE YOU, IMPA! HOW VERY DARE YOU!" Kru was almost purple with rage as he faced off against the furious sheikah judge. He tittered mirthlessly and then, will little attempt to disguise the bitter anger in his voice, "You want to know what so amuses me about your little delusions about your precious, innocent ward and your attitude towards her cavalier? You want to know what is so pathetic about you? Well I'll tell you…oh I'll tell you good!"
Rauru sighed and closed his eyes, silently praying for instant removal from this plane of existence. Surely he deserved better than this? Kru's voice cut into his mind's attempts to escape. Apparently, he didn't deserve better.
"…you go on and on an on about how your ward, your darling little Zelda, won't fall for this Calatian Idiot, that she is too clever, that we are deluded for thinking she will. Well let me tell you, Impa, you are the deluded one." Here he poked her arm with a bony finger. Impa was white with fury. "How many girls do you know that wouldn't fall for the charms of a handsome buffoon hell-bent on wooing her? Well, normal girls that is – you wouldn't because you aren't normal. And besides that – who was the one that hired the said Calatian Idiot to go rescue her ward in the first place? Who was the one who sent him off to save her from Ganondorf without consulting with her fellows? Who was the one who completely spat upon the careful plans of her fellows without a second glance because she thought she knew best? Who is now running quick to blame this problem on her fellows? You! That's who! This is your fault! If you don't want the Calatian boy to protect Zelda, why did you pay him to do the very same thing in the first place?"
"I sent him to go and destroy Ganondorf." Retorted Impa. She wasn't quite sure how she should react to this diatribe. She couldn't argue the case. What Kru said was almost true. She had been the one to hire Link.
"Yes, but you knew Zelda was held captive at his castle and I'll bet you knew a boy like him would rush to help her the very moment he got a whiff of her being held against her will. You knew he'd rescue her. You just wanted him to do it for free." Kru smiled irritatingly. Impa said nothing, thus compounding his victory. She couldn't deny that.
"For three grown people, you don't half talk some rubbish." Came a soft voice from behind them. Their argument was instantly forgotten and as one, they swung around. There was nothing there. Impa quelled the shocked beating of her heart and glanced around. Barely a blade of grass had moved; there was not a footprint in the sodden ground. She rested her hand lightly against the hilt of her dagger and gazed into the growing darkness. "Show yourself." She demanded.
There was no response. Impa frowned and took another look at the ground. The voice had been real and unrecognisable and had come from nearby but there was no evidence of there being anybody nearby. She was just about to turn to her frightened companions and tell them to continue their journey when a sudden movement caught her eye.
There was an odd shadow rushing across the grass towards them. Impa drew her dagger as the shadow flew towards them. As it moved closer, it seemed to take on a form, almost as if it was growing out of the ground. Before she could wonder what kind of creature the shadow was, it shifted again. Was it a horse or a dog or a bird or a dragon or a human? It seemed to be all of them and yet none. Before she could actually voice any of her thoughts, the shadow shot across their path again and leapt ahead of them and stopped abruptly.
It was a shadow, there was no doubt of that, and as they watched, it seemed to melt into the ground, dissolving into nothing. Impa opened her mouth to shout a warning, but before her vocal chords had activated, she was stunned into silence again. Her mouth remained open. The shadow was rapidly growing. Its growth was treelike, the darkness sprouted from the ground as a thin black line first and as it grew taller, its stem (if it could be called that) thickened, and the shoot split in two. As the two branches came to rest, one each side of the shadow's body, the shadow's form changed. The curves of a female body came into existence, a head, arms and legs became clearly defined and slowly colour rippled over her body, changing the shadow to flesh and bone and cloaking her in colours.
The woman stood before them, her face completely impassive. She had no need to study the judges' faces as eagerly as they studied hers. She knew them pretty well by now and had formed a rather decided opinion of them. They would be seeing her in her real form – a form she had not used for an awfully long time. She did not even remember what her real form looked like.
"W-who are you?" Stammered Impa. She had certainly never seen the woman before. She would have remembered her.
"You don't know? Why don't that shock me?" Mused the stranger. Her voice was odd – slow, determinedly calm but with a snarl in its depths. She sniffed and stared at Impa. "I'm just who you're looking for. I'm Xeial."
"Xeial?" Repeated the judges in unison. They each craned forward to take a better look at the final Dream Snatcher.
She watched them calmly, a hint of mockery lighting her pale blue eyes. She was tall and lithe and proud. Her face was striking rather than beautiful, her features were a little too sharp to be considered pretty and an ugly scar ran right the way across it, from ear to ear but there was something about her that caught the eye. Her hair was a deep gold colour and fell around her shoulders in loose tumbled waves. She cocked an eyebrow at Impa.
"You're Xeial?" She asked, faintly.
"Yep?"
"But…but…" Stammered the normally outspoken judge, she gulped and took a breath "You are a Gerudo!"
"This way!" Link darted so sharply to the side that Zelda's arm was almost wrenched from its socket. He swung her through an open doorway and pushed her against a wall in the shadows, he stood with his back to her, shielding her as best he could. Hidden in the darkness, they dared not even breathe as noise of pursuit drew closer.
His heart was pounding in his chest. Not good. Link had always prided himself on being in tip-top physical condition, but not even his well-trained body could emerge without a blemish after two weeks in a Gerudo Prison. The lack of food and injuries done to him were taking their toll after on a few minutes of flight. He knew Zelda was not doing any better either. Certainly, her food intake had surpassed his (for what need did Ganondorf have of him?) but the Gerudo's hadn't exactly treated her as an honoured guest. They were both exhausted and malnourished and for once Link's usual optimism had deserted him.
The footsteps drew closer and the troop leader barked out a few quick orders. Link pushed his body further back into the dark recess he had found and closed his eyes. He held the sword he had stolen from their guard behind his back. He felt Zelda's hand slip over his and he smiled slightly. Whatever happened, he was determined that she would get out of the castle. He knew he would have to fight and he was willing to fight, he just wished he could be confident his body would last for more than a minute.
The guards were checking each room. Doors up and down the corridor were being opened and slammed closed and shouts of "Clear" filled the air. Given the amount of time taken between the shouts, Link guessed that they were doing a sweep search. He hoped that would work in their favour. The shouts grew closer along with the footsteps.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
Link opened one eye and craned his head back so he could peer through the gap in the doorway. On the opposite side of the corridor he saw a guard flinging the door open. She held a lantern up in the room and glanced around and then marched out, slamming the door behind her.
"Clear." She shouted.
Link realised that his eyes had closed on their own account. He would have smiled at his childish reaction to danger had he not been so convinced of their immediate discovery. The soldier's feet padded gently towards their hiding place. Through closed lids, Link could feel the light sweeping through the room. It would only be a matter of an instant before its soft yellow beam would land on them. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword compulsively.
"Clear."
The word was so unexpected and so close to them that it was hardly surprising that he jumped. Behind him, Zelda managed to control her own usual reaction to the startling by channelling her magic into Link's back, for which he would later thank her. He gritted his teeth against the pain and as the telltale padding of feet sounded again, he ventured to open one eye.
Nabooru was standing in the middle of the room holding a lantern. She met Link's confused look with the blandest of smiles and shouted 'Clear' again. She raised a finger as his mouth opened and shook her head slightly. Link was just about to demand an explanation of her when a voice sounded in the passage.
"Other paths are clear, Captain. What are your orders?"
"Proceed to the West Wing, I will be there directly."
"Yes Sir."
The soft thud of three pairs of feet marching into the distance could be heard. Nabooru waited until the room had fallen silent again before turning her attention back to Link. A slightly softer smile lit her face as she met his eyes again but she silenced him again with a slight shake of her head. She pretended to look around the room again, taking particular note of the bottom left corner of the wall.
"There appears to be a loose brick there." She mused, as if to herself. "I must inform the castle mason." She crossed the room and knelt at the offending wall. Gently she rocked a brick from side to side, sliding it out with comparative ease. She held the lantern to the darkness behind. "How odd, there seems to be a passage there." She whispered, again as if to herself. "Wonder where it could lead? The witches quarters perhaps? Certainly not the North Wing where you are, King Ganondorf. Hmmm, it must be investigated." She stood and brushed the dust off her clothes. She glanced around the room again, "Would you like me to look now or later, Sire?"
"Later's good. Check the other corridors, Nabs." Ganondorf's voice floated through the air from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Zelda zapped Link for the second time in as many minutes. So Ganondorf was spying on Nabooru?
"Can't the Seeing Stone find the escapees, Sir?" Called Nabooru, barely glancing at Link but sending him another clear message of warning. It was duly noted. Link was obediently still and silent.
Ganondorf chuckled in a hideously wicked manner, making the whole room reverberate unpleasantly. Zelda's grip on Link's hand tightened. "Yeah, funny thing that. I only seem to be able to get it to train on you at the moment, Nabooru. Kotake said it's tapped into my subconscious imaginings and that to visualise the prisoner's I should concentrate on them, but the thing is, you are wearing a really pretty pair of pants today and I just can't help but think how nice they'd look against the blood red velvet of my throne. Whaddya say? Want to take some time of your work and come visit your king for a bit?"
"Sure, why not? It'd be a pleasure." Replied Nabooru in an almost sunny manner, she smiled into the darkness and adopted a sultry pose. Link was near enough to see the look of distaste visible in her golden eyes. He had the feeling Nabooru didn't like being hit on in public. "I'll be there in two minutes, Sir."
"Oh goodie."
"And Sir?"
"Yes, Suger Plum?"
"I have to say, Sir, that if you spy on me again I will send Mr Pinky Beak, Goldie Feathers and Little Duckle-Quack for their first flying lesson through the nearest window."
There was a silence, oddly enough accompanied by some sloshing water sounds. Nabooru raised an eyebrow and an odd smirk lit her face.
"…Nabs, are you...um...threatening me?" Came the response at last, uttered in what was supposed to be an un-intimated voice, but alas, the King sounded somewhat shaken by Nabooru's words.
"Of course not, Sir, it was a joke." Laughed Nabooru. Ganondorf was too busy sighing with relief and gathering his yellow babies to his breast to notice the I'm-so-not-joking-look on his subordinate's face. Nabooru glanced at Link for the final time and she nodded at him. "I'll see you soon." She said, as addressing Ganondorf, all the while her eyes were fixed on the Calatian. He understood the message and as she marched from the room he raised his hand in farewell.
"Of course I'm Gerudo." Said Xeial, rolling her pale blue eyes. "What did ya expect?"
Impa blinked and rapidly tore through her memories of Aganhim's lecture about the Dream Snatchers. There had been something in there about Xeial – she had been a Hylian General. A General of the Hylian army could not – would not, be a Gerudo? Surely not? Impa tried to formulate these thoughts into a semblance of a sentence and failed miserably.
Xeial tilted her head as she listed, concentrating very hard on Impa's babbling. Fortunately for the Judges (and for Xeial) her mind was very quick and she was fiercely intelligent. "You do know a true Gerudo'd never have blue eyes, don't you?" She asked, once Impa had finished her rambling speech. The three judges did know but didn't answer. Xeial flashed a wide grin at them, unsettling them all, and said very gently "I'm only half Gerudo. The other half is pure Hylian royalty. Surely you knew that? No? Hmm, well I guess my lineage don't really matter much, given that it's all but extinct but let me just tell you that my mother was the King's little sister and my father was the then Gerudo King. I believe it were hoped when I was born, I'd have little trace of the Gerudo in me, but alas it wasn't to be. As you so rightly said, I'm unmistakably Gerudo, and unfortunately like at most time throughout our country's history, the Hylian's fear the Gerudo so my mother couldn't marry my father. Anyways, the long 'n' short of it was that the King wanted to get rid of me easily, so he made me a General and put me in charge of the front lines. Guessed he hoped I'd die quickly." Xeial studied her long fingers for a moment, a gentle smile softening her face. "Shame for my Uncle, I'm a little bit indestructible."
"Indestructable?"
"Why yes! I've always had a charmed life. Guess I lucked out with my parents – one was a powerful sorcerer, the other a sage. You wouldn't believe the amounts of spells and charms and incantations there are on me. I suppose that's what saved me from that Saeru. She couldn't curse me, not properly, and because I knew I was…well…kind of immortalish, I didn't fear her or anything. There was nothing she could do to me, or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong but never mind. What's to mind now is what are we gonna do next?"
"We?" Asked Impa, a little faintly.
"Oh so you're not going to try and save your precious Zelda, are you? You want Ganondorf to take Saeru's power as his own, do you?" Xeial grinned again, and Impa suddenly realised why it was she found the young woman so disturbing. The grin reminded her of a dog's snarl. "That's just so precious" Added the Dream Snatcher, taking irony and sneering to a whole new level of derision. Impa had never felt like she was a worm before, but now she was almost prepared to fall flat on her belly and start wiggling. "You three are the most noble, valiant persons I've ever come across. Congratultions." Xeial's wide-eyed sincerity shook all three judges to the core. There was something very sinister about Xeial and all three had the impression that should she choose to, she could hurt them. A lot.
"Um, of course we'll join you." Stammered Impa. For the first time in her life, she realised she had well and truly met her match. Now she knew what her poor fellow judges had to face every day. She began to feel a little sorry for them.
"Good, because for a minute there I thought you guys were gonna wimp out on me." Smiled Xeial, all happy again. She grinned at Impa and her eyes flashed with mischeif. "Weren't you three on the way to the castle anyways? You'll get there plenty fast enough if I give you a lift." The three judges exchanged a look pregnant with fear and resignation. Had it been possible for them to communicate telepathically, they would have been agreeing at this point that Xeial reminded them forcibly of somebody. The question was - who? Given that she was a Princess of sorts, although a deplorably half-Gerduo princess, she appeared to have few manners and little decorum. They would have dearly liked to escape from this undesireable person had it been possible. None of them enjoyed her slightly agressive mannerism, her caustic tone of voice or the habit she had of staring at them with her unblinking icy eyes. she was certainly not the sort of young woman any person in their right mind would mess with.
Right mind? Impa suddenly gasped as a horrible realisation dawned on her. She knew exactly who it was that reminded her so much of Xeial and the thought was not pleasant. Her gasp drew all attention to her.
"Something wrong, Impa?" Asked Xeial, her manner anything but solicitous.
"You! You're...you're..."
"Amber. Wow, you like totally worked that out in less than half an hour. The head-hamster has officially woken up. Praise the gods." Xeial finished the sentence for Impa and yawned. Rauru and Kru decided it was high time for them to gasp too and join in with the general surprise. They stared at the woman and began to imagine they saw resemblences between her and Link's pet. Certainly she was ferosious enough to be the erstwhile wolf but could she really be...? "I am a shape-shifter." Explained the Dream Snatcher, forestalling the inevitiable question whilst studying her fingers casually. "I exist to protect Lefestra's heir."
"Zelda?" Prompted Impa, hopefully.
Xeial snorted. "Pah, that girl - the descendant of my Lefestra? Don't have a laugh! You know exactly who I'm talking about. You knew all along, didn't you, Impa? The Free Sword of Calatia? Only Lefestra's true heir would ever have such a title!"
"You mean....Link?" Stammered Rauru. He looked in Impa's direction and wondered whether his fellow judge was literally going to explode with annoyance or whether she would be wise enough to hold her tongue. It certainly would not be a clever move to openly disparage the boy within earshot of Xeial. If her performances as Amber were anything to go by, Xeial was more than capable of instant, painfully retaliation to any insult to her beloved pet.
"I thought Judges are supposed to be smart? I don't know how the heck you ever got your jobs because you guys are the most stupid people I have ever met." Said Xeial, with awful deliberation. "Of course I meant Link."
Hehe, so did you guess Xeial's identity right? Let me know!!! See ya next chapter XX
