Sweet, Dark Lullaby
Chapter 6: What Lies Ahead.

It was a silent chasm, dark and haunting, full of mystery. Jovani had always been fond of silence, but upon entering Arbiter's Grounds, he felt discomforted by the lack of sound. No noise; nothing seemed to be here. Turning to Rusl, the male watched him inspect the area, mentally figure out a plan so they could reach their destination quickly.

Looking down, Jovani realised there were only several platforms which the sand hadn't sucked away yet. He gulped and clenched his fists. 'M–– Maybe if I stay here?'

'No, you're coming with me,' Rusl said, stepping forwards. He stroked his chin. 'I have a feeling someone has been here before us. Look: the doors are opened. All the puzzles have been solved.' His glanced at the door. Then an idea came to mind. 'Hang onto me.'

Confused, Jovani obeyed, taking hold of Rusl's arm. Rusl grabbed a peculiar object from his bag, and aimed it towards the wall ahead. A claw shot out from the handle and latched onto the wall opposite. Suddenly the two zoomed over the sand and landed at the other side of the room, dropping down. Jovani was wide eyed, completely bewildered by what had happened. Rusl didn't seem flustered in the slightest.

They proceeded onwards, up a flight of stairs, and reached a large room. Four pillars stood at the centre, blue flames hovering above them. A huge doorway was ahead, but, like Rusl presumed, someone had already been here and solved the puzzle. Jovani scratched his head when his eyes caught sight of a chest.

It hadn't been opened, and instinct told him that whatever was within would certainly be in his favour. Licking his lips, the man turned and made his way for the chest. Rusl didn't notice Jovani's absence. He was more interested in what lay beyond. Hurrying up the staircase, he entered a much brighter room. Spikes rotated on a platform in the middle, and if he wasn't looking where he was going, he would have been sliced in two.

This place was more severe than he imagined. At least there was sufficient light and he could see properly. A couple of doors waited, and he was troubled with which one to go through. Rusl didn't want to waste any time.

'Okay, Mister Jovani. You decide. Where should we––?'

'Ahhh!'

Rusl widened his eyes, and turned, realising to his horror that Jovani wasn't nearby. He whipped back around and bolted down the staircase, his heart pounding against his ribcage. Damn it! How could he be so stupid? Of course something would distract that idiotic man!

Skidding to a halt in the larger room, Rusl searched for him. 'Where are you, you fool?!'

'I'm here! Help! The sand–– I can't move!'

He saw him, but only what was left. Hand in the air, searching for something to grab onto, Jovani struggled, the majority of his body sucked in by the sand. Rusl raised his gaze and spotted the unopened chest. It was clear what Jovani's motives were.

But how stupid! Did he forget what the Gerudo informed them about the sand? "Be careful: the earth gets hungry sometimes."
Rusl didn't know Jovani all that well, but he wasn't prepared to lose a companion. Especially when said companion didn't mean to have a part in all of this.

Rushing forwards he grabbed Jovani's hand and pulled. He pulled as hard as he could, his feet slipping on the smooth brick below. Rusl jarred his teeth, stood again and pulled. Jovani wiggled in the sand, gasping for breath. 'Ahh, help! I'm going to die!'

'No! Damn it, Jovani, hang on.'

Not long later the man's head was the only part of his body which was above the sand. He raised his chin, inhaling, scrunching his eyes. Then his hand slipped from Rusl's––

'Damn you! Hang on!' The blonde's words were useless though. Within seconds, Jovani had disappeared, and the sand had swallowed him whole. Rusl pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Oh Goddesses...' He was gone. Undoubtedly dead.

Scrambling to his feet, Rusl exhaled slowly. He hated watching someone die. The man had constant nightmares about it involving his children and wife. The last thing he wanted was to let Jovani be defeated by quicksand.

Well. While it was cold and cruel, Rusl knew there wasn't any point in standing around mourning. There were thousands who needed his help.

'I'm sorry. You... You're happier where you are now, Sir.'

They were the only words he could think of. Unfortunately Jovani was most anti-social, and people only knew him as a greedy man. It was a shame.

Rusl faced the large doorway, sighed, and continued his journey.

'Midna? Midna, are you awake?'

'... Yes. Who–– Who is it?'

'There's something I have to tell you, and it's urgent. You need to keep your mind alert, though, otherwise you will no longer hear my voice.'

'Who are you?'

'At the moment, I don't want you to worry about that. Just stay focussed on my voice.'

'It's hard. I'm so tired. Everything hurts.'

'I know. I know, but you must listen to me–– No, no, please don't fall back to sleep...'

Something wasn't right.

When one passed on, that was it. Nothing happened afterwards. So how comes he could move his toes, could hear himself breathe? How comes when he opened his eyes, he could see? Was this the afterlife? It... didn't feel like the afterlife.

Jovani slowly sat upright, groaning, barely able to keep his body straight. A long, narrow, and shady passageway awaited him. The smell of ash entered his nostrils and he sneezed. Turning his head, Jovani inspected everything: brick. All he saw was brick. He stood on brick, the walls were made of brick, and the ceiling was... Whoa.

Okay, the ceiling wasn't brick. It looked like sand. Jovani tried to reach for the sandy ceiling, but his fingertips couldn't reach. Wait, what was happening? Why was he here? He remembered slipping and falling into the sand, how the tiny stones quickly latched onto his body, sucked him down. How he clung onto Rusl's hand, but the force of the sand became too much.

He was alive. How could that be?

Facing onwards, Jovani clenched a fist. Oh Gods, what was he to do? He was trapped. There weren't any signs showing him to the exit. Damn Rusl! He should have allowed him to wait at the entrance otherwise none of this would have happened.

Slowly and carefully the man took a few step forwards, his breathing growing shallow. 'H–– Hello? Is anyone th–– there?'

Jovani pulled a face. Of course no one was here. Who would waste their life here? He just wanted to go home!

'Hello, Mister Jovani––'

'Ahh!' Jovani screamed, flailing his hands around in an attempt to attack whoever had spoken to him. 'Go away, go away, go away! I–– I'm not tasty to eat!'

In disbelief, the Gerudo spirit watched Jovani jump around, eyes closed, whacking thin air. This man was crazier than she assumed. Hylians were a peculiar race. Levitating, she crossed her legs and patiently waited for this idiot to calm down.

When he did (sort of), Jovani slowly turned to look at her.

'Oh... It's you again. Wh–– Go away! I'm lost and now there's nowhere for me to go.' It was clear the man was frightened of her, however after being formally introduced he felt more secure she wouldn't harm him. Still, Jovani kept his guard.

'You are lost, but I can guide you to the Mirror Chamber.'

'I don't care about mirrors, woman! I have plenty back home.'

The Gerudo sneered. 'I'm sure. You look like the type who spends most of their day gazing at themselves in the mirror. I have a hunch you require many though. Most of them would have cracked by the reflection.'

'Oh! You are full of cheek.'

'Thank you. I take that as a compliment.'

'Go away!'

'No.'

'Why?'

She shrugged, and rested her feet onto the ground. 'If I don't escort you, then you will die. Men are pretty useless when it comes to situations like these. As soon as something doesn't go their way, they panic and become suicidal. Incredibly pathetic.'

Jovani folded his arms and glared at her. 'You don't know me. Or–– you haven't seen the best of me.'

'Ehehe, I'm sure I have. Now, stop talking and listen to what I say. I need to take you to the Mirror Chamber. There, you will meet your companion and you shall inform the Hero of Time about what has happened to the Mirror.'

'I don't know anything about this Mirror!'

She smiled, and there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. 'You will soon. Luckily for you, you discovered the shortcut which was created by the Gerudos in an attempt to invade Hyrule. Sneaky, eh? Who knew you'd end up here after being swallowed by quicksand? This passageway was created many years ago, but I doubt you're interested.' Shrugging, the Gerudo lifted herself from the ground and gestured for him to follow. 'Come.'

Craning his neck to the side, Jovani decided he didn't really have a choice. From recent experience he realised following people only brought him trauma. However, he had nothing to lose anymore. Everything was gone.

So with a heavy sigh the wealthy man followed the spirit.

Sunrise was Kakariko's best time of day. Different arrays of colour glowed in the sky, and reflected a warmth onto the ground below. The Village remained silent, but beautiful, and homely. Naturally, Link found this sort of area comfortable and would happily spend his life here if he didn't have so many other matters at hand.

There were many reasons why he was up so early. Around three o' clock in the morning, the man escaped the confines of his bed and left the stuffy room. Without even thinking things through, he proceeded up the opposite staircase, found where Midna was resting and silently opened the door before gently closing it behind him.

What he saw would always remain a scar in his mind. Only once in his life had he witnessed Midna appearing weak and helpless. Now, she looked... unlike herself. Bandages covered her many wounds, and, even while sleeping, she looked utterly defeated. He stepped over, pressed a hand to her cheek.

Spending a night without knowing she was okay felt awful. Link barely slept. Kneeling down, he brushed his thumb across a faint scar. Renado had treated her well, but she appeared frail and hardly alive. Whatever Ganondorf had done, it was harsh and cruel. Too much for someone so small.

However, even if Ganondorf had severely wounded her, no matter what happened, Midna would have stayed alive for as long as she could. She was, and always had been, a very strong woman. Stronger than he in quite a few ways.

Resting his chin on the bed, Link watched her, as if hoping she would miraculously wake up, bonk him on the head and tell him to stop being lazy. To get a move on and save Zelda. Only her chest moved, lightly, her lungs straining with the little energy she had left.

Link brought the sheet a little higher over her, but she would be warm. A fire roared in the corner, the curtains were closed, and the small room was all Midna's. Renado knew what he was doing.

She'll be fine. She'll be fine. She doesn't need you.

The door opened.

Naturally, Link thought this was an enemy. He protectively brought an arm around the imp-like creature and whipped his head around to see the intruder. Of course it was only Renado, who didn't appear surprised at all to witness Link here.

The older man sighed gently. 'I apologise. I should have let you see her.'

That wasn't expected. Link cleared his throat and found his feet. 'It's okay. I just couldn't sleep.'

'Yes, I gathered.' Renado stepped inside, his eyes on Midna, then on Link. 'You know, those times when you think sacrificing your health for a friend seems heroic–– in the end, it only aggravates the friend you were wishing to take care of. Link, I'm sure Midna would rather you treated yourself than worry over her.'

I know she would. 'Thank you,' he said, although he wasn't sure why. Link brushed past Renado and left the room, his mind constantly on the image of Midna's wounded form. It was horrible. Everything was so horrible and he wanted to escape this nightmare.

Outside, his mind released and he could breathe properly. The air was fresh, the Spring welcomed his presence and he closed his eyes. Water washed his boots, cleansed his soul, allowed him to think properly, come to terms with his emotions. What was happening, why it was happening, how it was happening. Who was to blame.

I am.

Link inhaled sharply. He could remember it all, so well––

Running. How fast he ran. Desperate. Desperate. By the Gods, he had never felt so desperate in his life. His legs were powerful, mighty, monstrous. His adrenaline spiked, and he pelted up the hill, like a wolf running in the moonlight to find its prey. He breathed heavily, but he never stopped, he would never stop running for someone he loved.

The Blade cut his flesh, he bled, pooling the grass with his defeat. A foolish man, succumbed to his own emotions. Who fell for a woman who could never be. Who fell for a vile, selfish, spiteful creature. He was, and always would be, a very weak man.

Pitiful.

Lord Ganondorf could only laugh when he fell to the side. Allowed death to overcome him.

... to meet his Princess below.

Anger.

Hot anger. It was so hot. He burned inside, his eyes scorched, his heart bled with vengeance. Everything he did was worthless. Every limb he broke, every bruise, every tear, every sweat, every damn wound–– all for nothing.

The sword swung, slashing at the trees, the air, the ground. He yelled, swiping invisible enemies, sweat pouring from his forehead, releasing the toxic from his body. Then the tears began to trickle down his cheeks. He had lost her. He had lost her. She slipped away from his fingers and was gone. And Zelda... He thought he was saving Zelda, he thought he was saving her.

Midna had been brutally injured for no reason. He had lost her for no reason.

This wasn't her battle, and yet she received the worst.

The Spirits had not blessed her with treatment. The Spirits only cared about the Hero. Never the Rogue.

Link flung his sword, everywhere, at everything. His hand was powerful, slicing bark into two, his muscles straining under the impact but he continued to fight. Continued to fight against his furious pride. No, he could never allow himself to fall into this trap. A trap where he would no longer recognise himself.

I'm better than that.

'Link? Link!'

A voice. It was soft, and angelic. Innocent. Oblivious.

The man fought against the winds still, hot tears burning his tanned cheeks. Help me, please help me.

'Link!' Two hands found him, squeezed at his tunic, and he surrendered.

The blade left his sore hand.

Collapsing to his knees, Link inhaled shakily, bowed his head, let the tears fall. A lady found him, and she was concerned and frightened. Ever so confused. She has always been a confused little angel. Link raised his heavy head (he could feel the crown slipping to the ground), and looked at Ilia.

Looked at sanity.

'Link...' She brought her hands to his face, her beautiful eyes worried. She was so worried. 'Link, what are you doing?'

'I don't know,' he said pathetically. 'Ilia... I don't know what I'm doing anymore.'

'You were fighting something.'

Myself.

'What were you fighting, Link? There's no one here.'

'I–– I don't know.'

She hugged him. It was warm, full of affection and honesty. Link scrunched his eyes closed, found her, and returned the embrace, but barely. He finally realised how tired he was. How weak he had become. How much his body needed rest.

Ilia sent a hand through his hair, and exhaled slowly.

'What's happening to you?'

'I lost. I lost.'

'No, you can never lose.'

'I did though...' He pulled away so he could look at her. 'I fought him, and he defeated me. Now I've lost her, and everything. Everything is falling apart and––'

'Shh.' She placed a finger to his chapped lips. 'You haven't lost anyone. Nothing is falling apart. What are you talking about?'

Link ran a hand down his face, and jarred his teeth. Ilia was absolutely right: what was he talking about? This wasn't like him. Never did Link admit defeat. It wasn't in his nature.

'Am I weak?' His voice broke, and he struggled to keep the tears from falling.

Ilia watched him, horrified, then she softened her expression and shook her head. 'No, you're not. You're the strongest man I know. The wisest and most courageous... Why? What's the matter?'

'There's a friend, here. Upstairs. She–– I nearly lost her. She's fighting a war which has nothing to do with her, and she's wounded. She almost died. For a long time, I thought she was––' Link cut himself off, and sighed heavily. 'It's stupid, all of this. I didn't know what to do. I felt so angry.'

It was unknowable how Ilia felt about Link being in a state about another woman, but all he saw was concern. She was gentle and comforting, understanding. Very calm. 'If she consented to fight beside you, then you cannot blame yourself if she's wounded, Link.'

'I know...'

'And do you think she'd want you to? Don't you think seeing you like this would upset her?' Ilia bit down on her lower lip. 'Because you're upsetting me. I don't want to see you like this.'

Link breathed. In and out. Slowly. He needed Ilia to keep holding him, to keep him sane. Then he nodded, quickly, again and again. 'You're right.' He breathed. 'I–– I was silly.'

'No, you're not being silly. Give yourself a break, Link. You're human.'

His heart began to soothe itself. His mind was no longer racing. His body stopped shaking. Link closed his eyes. 'I am. I'm sorry.' His voice was firm now, stable. 'I needed to talk to someone.'

They met each other in another embrace, and this time he managed to hug her back. He held her tightly, held his friend to him. I just needed to talk to someone.

'Urgh, how much longer?' Jovani grumbled. An hour ago he had stopped running, and the Gerudo pouted in frustration. This man was even lousier than she thought possible. 'I've been walking in the same direction for ages and there's nothing here.'

'There will be if you stop whining.'

True, the two had been heading down the same narrow passageway for hours and there didn't seem to be any positive results. It seemed to go on forever. Jovani ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. 'I'm all hot and sweaty.'

'Delightful.'

In silence, they continued, walked for minutes, until the Gerudo spoke again.

'To pass the time, let me inform you what this passageway was used for.'

'If you must.'

'Well, there was a time when Hylians and Gerudos were at each other's throat. Believe me, we were never fond of each other in the first place, but ever since some of our people began to conduct dark magic, in their corruption they harmed some Hylians. These Gerudos were executed and the rest of us were viewed with much suspicion.'

Jovani raised his gaze to look at the floating Gerudo. Her expression was no longer bored. In fact, she now appeared angry and he was afraid she would snatch one of her nifty knives and hurt him.

'It was obvious they were considering what to do with us. The Royal Family were useless, of course: didn't know what to do. However us Gerudos found it impossible to let those Hylians kill some of us and get away unpunished. Yes, we had murdered a couple of their people but only accidentally. Their killings were deliberate and done without reason. We are a very proud and powerful race; no one gets away with anything.'

'I gathered.'

'So, we used this passageway to invade Hyrule, to earn our just revenge.'

Jovani raised both of his eyebrows. 'And how did that go for you all?'

'Hylian soldiers are useless. They possess no skill, however we were greatly outnumbered once the Zora and Goron attacked us. We were defeated, and soon banished. I'm surprised they didn't kill us. The Twilight became our new home.'

Twilight? Jovani pulled a face. 'What are you going on about now?'

The Gerudo ignored him. 'Gradually our appearances changed and after so many years we found it unbearable to face the Light world again. Did I mention we were all female?'

'Nope.'

'Men weren't exactly suitable for a sufficient role, except this boy in green: Link. He became a member of the Gerudo. One of us. Back to the point: we were all female, and travelled to different lands to mate. Once every hundreds of years, a male would be born within the tribe.' She then smiled, almost dreamily. 'Unfortunately, when we were banished, there wasn't any male amongst us so we were unable to breed.'

'... Oh?'

'Due to the freakish atmosphere within this separate Realm, some of us miraculously changed gender––'

'Oh Goddesses!'

'I know. Impressive. That's how the "Twili" have managed to stay alive. At least we still have powerful allies. The Twili are a great race. However, no one can match the Gerudos.'

Jovani cocked a brow. 'Technically, aren't the Twili or whatever and the Gerudo the same... people?'

'I guess. We look different, though. Mostly.'

Even though Jovani now felt greatly disturbed, at least they had reached the end. Exclaiming in joy, he quickened his pace and burst out of the door, stepping into the open air. He breathed and was tempted to get onto his knees and kiss the sand (which wasn't hungry to eat him, thankfully). However he thought against that and contained his enthusiasm.

'We're here,' the Gerudo said. 'I'm sure your friend isn't that far away.'

Jovani looked around him. They seemed to be in a circular area, and a large platform stood ahead. It was dark, and the air was nippy. But he was outside! 'So what do I do?'

'Go inspect the Mirror, Mister Jovani. You'll know what happens next.'

'Wait, you're leaving?'

'Oh?' The Gerudo sniggered. 'You're going to miss me?'

He scowled and waved her off. 'Pfft, no. You're nothing but a pest. Be gone with you!'

Grinning ear-to-ear, the Gerudo merely rolled her eyes and was gone. At once Jovani felt more lonelier, colder even. Wrapping his arms around himself, he stepped forwards, nearing the platform. Just as he was about to climb up the steps, a voice was heard behind.

'Jovani?'

Boy, was he popular this evening.

Turning around, he saw Rusl rushing forwards, a look of disbelief written over his face. 'I–– I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to see you.'

For some reason, hearing that sent a wave of flattery through the man. No one had ever been happy to see him. Clearing his throat, Jovani kept his expression stoic. 'Where were you? I've been waiting for quite a while.'

'I had to deal with these menaces from the sand. Whenever they screamed, I couldn't move. They were very similar to––' Rusl didn't continue, remembering Jovani wasn't there when he faced those Shadows Beasts. Maybe it was just as well. 'Tell me: how did you survive? I thought the quicksand got you.'

'Don't underestimate my abilities to survive. I'm more powerful than you'd assume.'

Rusl frowned. 'Uh, right.'

'So, this is the Mirror Chamber or whatever?'

'The Mirror what?'

Jovani froze. Ah. Scratching the back of his head, he shrugged: 'I might have met up with our Gerudo again. She's got a mouth on her and never stops talking.'

Honestly, Rusl's head felt like it would explode. He was so confused, and just standing here talking to Jovani was driving him nuts. He needed to move. Not responding to Jovani's sentence, he proceeded up the tiny staircase, Jovani soon following after him.

What awaited them seemed to be a crescent shaped stand, possibly used to hold something. Rusl brushed a hand over his cheek in thought.

'Shouldn't a Mirror Chamber possess a Mirror?' Jovani inquired, inspecting the object.

'Yes, you'd think so.' Rusl said. 'I know this place. They say a Mirror which transports someone to a different Realm belongs here: the Mirror of Twilight.'

'That Gerudo was talking about Twilight or whatever it is. So where is this Mirror of Twilight?'

Indeed there wasn't a Mirror in sight. Rusl inspected the stand, as if hoping there would be a message somewhere. There wasn't any. 'It's not here. The Mirror is gone.'

author's note: Hey, I hope you enjoyed this. I felt it was unrealistic for Link to casually accept everything that had happened, and while he might have been a bit dramatic, he needed to get rid of these angry emotions somehow. Don't worry: he shall be back in "Hero" mode soon ;) The Mirror's disappearance is very important for what is about to come.
Thank you Captain Germany for taking the time to beta-read this chapter, while also offering me feedback on Chapter 4. [Guest aka: The Girly Fan], your review really made me smile, and I'm so flattered you look forward to my updates–– that's sweet of you to say. ShiftingWinds125, thank you for your constant support since Chapter 1. I really appreciate that. Lastly, kudos to SkywardDiamond who has been a darling, and offered me constructive feedback for Chapter 1. In a few!

P.S. Please vote on my new poll. Thank you.