Chapter 6

I found my way back home, exhausted from all of the recent events. My legs were sore from walking and standing most of the day. The scrapes on my hands and knees that I had received from falling stung. My head actually felt like it hurt from trying to figure out every little detail of today and if something had meaning or could be ignored. Vaati and Hue had successfully created an uproar in my mind with their strange behavior and words.

When I crawled through the window, for once in my life, I wanted to sleep. I longed for sleep just to quiet my thoughts for a few hours of peace. After closing the window and changing into my nightgown, I laid down on my bed, my eyes falling closed automatically.

It only felt like minutes had passed when the sun warmed my face enough to become uncomfortable. I groggily opened my eyes, still unbelievably tired. Despite not wanting to move, I forced myself up and over to my table to comb my hair. I needed to get dressed and go downstairs. The longer I stayed up here, the more questions Syrup would ask me. If she even suspected I had gone out last night, she would not let me out her sight, or, for that matter, earshot. Once she got going about something, she would talk for hours. She would be suspicious enough with how late I had gotten up.

I went down the stairs slowly, listening to what was going on in the shop. From the lack of noise, I guessed it was either empty or only a few quiet patrons were browsing the shelves. I first peeked around the corner of the doorframe, only to curse my luck. There were no customers. It would only be Syrup and me. As quietly and nonchalantly as I could, I walked into the shop and to a shelf I noticed needed rearranging.

"Eivie."

I swallowed nervously as I slowly turned towards her. For a second I looked at her face, seeing disappointment and slight irritation. I looked at the floor guiltily, already knowing I was about to be chastised.

"I thought I told you not to go wandering around at night."

I gave a barely noticeable shrug in response. Why had I even considered it possible that she would not know?

"It's dangerous! Why can't you understand that?" She stood from where she sat behind the counter. "I know you think you'll be okay, but there is a limit to what you should and shouldn't do. Those Poes are monsters; they will not protect you from everything, Eivie."

"I do not rely on them alone!" I spat back, surprising myself. "I am capable of protecting myself, especially in town. Monsters cannot invade without notice; the guards will stop them. And, even then, I am not a helpless child."

"Your Poes show that monsters can and will get into the city. And do you know how many knights have been coming back injured in monster attacks? I do not care if you think you can protect yourself. I want to know you are safe, which is easiest when I know where you are!"

"I…" I closed my mouth, not wanting to let another careless statement to be said. Her words were true, and her worries warranted. My actions were completely selfish, but that did not make me want to give into her will. Instead of waiting for her to continue her speech, I decided to leave. I went to the door and opened it.

"Where are you going?" Syrup asked at the same moment I was closing the door behind me.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder to look at her. She seemed exasperated with me. "I will be back soon," I said, before reconsidering and adding, "Before nightfall, at the latest." I left without giving her a chance to react.

I walked down the streets blindly, not caring where I was. I needed to concentrate on more important things than where I was going. Even the disagreement with Syrup needed to be pushed to the back of my mind for now. Too many things had happened last night that I had not had time to analyze.

It all began when Vaati asked where I had come from originally. Not only was it odd for him to ask about my past, he seemed genuinely curious about it. He then deliberately pointed out my nails and eyes, noting that they must have made my life there nightmarish. It was an odd word for him to use; normally one might equate it to sympathy. He knew that my eyes had been disliked by the villagers, like the event was exclusive to the village. Of course, when I came to Castle Town, no one seemed to care how I looked. Was this all somehow related? How had Vaati pieced things together? I sighed, not having answers to my own questions.

Then he had to call us similar. I would admit we were both odd in our own ways, but not similar enough that he would say so. He prided himself on how different he was; what he alone was capable of. His magic had set him apart from everyone. It was possible he simply meant that since I could use that jinx spell we are similar, but it just did not fit his character. He loved to play mind games. Why would he bother to make a comparison for something as simple as using magic? He had a meant something else by the comment, but I was apparently too stupid to figure it out.

Hue was the most troublesome, though. I had not sensed him since the Bokoblin attack. I even made sure to walk by the cemetery on the way back last night, thinking he would go back to what was his favorite hiding place. There was no sign of the gold Poe, leading me to believe he had been angry for whatever reason. Honestly, what had I done? I doubt my idle threat last night intimidated him at all, let alone into leaving. Was it a reaction to the jinx spell? If it had been, why did it make him disappear? It was a small bit of magic; I doubt I could even hurt him with it. Poe's were not physical beings most of the time, unlike the Bokoblin. The jinx may not even affect incorporeal beings.

Suddenly I ran into someone, successfully bringing me out of my thoughts and back to the physical world. I was about to apologize to the unfortunate soul I had smashed into, only to stop, noticing who I ran into.

"Hey, Eivie," Link greeted. "You okay?"

"I am fine." I looked around, noticing my feet had somehow brought me to the castle gates. That explained why Link was here. "I was just thinking over a few things, is all."

"A few things? It looked like you were thinking about the meaning of life or something. I mean, you ran into me and almost walked into the fountain." He pointed, causing me to see that I was indeed almost to the fountain. "Is something bothering you?"

I shook my head, but Link gave me a disbelieving look. "I had a disagreement with Syrup, is all. It is not very important," I lied. "There is no need to discuss it."

"If you say so," Link said slowly. He appeared hesitant to believe I was fine. "If you want to talk about you can tell me anytime."

I gave a half smile. Link was a good listener, I had talked to him about problems I had with Syrup a few times before, actually. He advised me it was normal to disagree with parental figures, reminding me that Syrup did treat me like a grandchild or child more than I believed she did. "Thank you, Link."

"Yeah," he said as he rubbed the back of his head and looked at the castle. I was likely keeping him from something.

It was then, though, that I had a sudden question to ask him. The fountain had reminded me. "Link, may I ask you something?"

"Umm, yes, I guess," he responded, somewhat surprised.

"What did you think of me when we first met? My appearance, more specifically."

"Huh?" His eyebrows came together. "I… I don't know what you're really asking. I mean, I saw you sitting there alone and decided to talk to you. I thought maybe you were lonely, or something. I don't know."

"What about my eye color? Had you not found it strange?"

"Well, I guess, sort of. But an eye color's an eye color, right? Why does it matter?"

"You made no comparison between my eyes and something else?"

"Eivie, what do you want me to say? I give up. Why is this suddenly so important?"

"It is not important." I had what information I needed. "Thank you for answering my silly questions."

"Um, all right? You sure you're okay?"

"Perfectly so," I answered as I walked past him, hoping he would drop the subject now.

He mumbled an okay before saying goodbye, then leaving to go about his business. I began walking blindly again, mulling over the bit of information I had received from Link. He had proved one of my earlier theories. My eye color only mattered in the village. When I came to Castle Town, there was no preconceived connection between my yellow eyes and Poes. Vaati had meant my similarities with Poes somehow made the villagers wary of me, while Castle Town had not made that connection. Here my eye color was merely an odd color. The villagers had seen it as dangerous, the sign of a monster. Now I had to figure out what this all meant, which seemed another chore to accomplish.

When I finally had my fill of walking, I returned to the shop. I sneaked in through my window, deciding I did not want to deal with Syrup right now. I fell asleep for a while, waking up sometime in the early evening. I then decided to read the poem book instead of going downstairs. For once I felt relaxed and not immensely irritated, which is exactly why someone had to ruin the moment.

Syrup called me down to the shop. When I arrived, she pointed to the counter. I understood that she needed to go back and brew up some more potions and needed me to watch the shop. Apparently she did not wish to discuss our earlier argument either. There was only one customer in the shop, who honestly seemed more interested in looking than buying. I had to explain to him how various potions worked and what some of the ingredients were. When he finally left I was very irritated he had the gall to ask a bunch of questions and then leave without a single drop of potion. He had no reason to bother me with some many pointless questions. When it was time to close for the day, I locked the door and went about straightening the shelves. Once that was done I quickly went back to my room, knowing that Syrup would want to talk.

I closed my door and turned around, my eyes widening in shock. I heart felt like it skipped a beat I had been so surprised. Vaati seemed to be making himself at home in my room. He sat on the edge of my bed, paging through the book I had left open on my table.

"What are you doing in my room?"

He chuckled at my mortified tone. "I only came to see if you made it back in one piece last night," he answered in a bored tone, still finding the book more interesting than explaining himself to me.

"I doubt that is your sole reason for being here."

"And you would be correct." He closed the book, stood up, walked towards me, and stopped a foot away from me. "Where is that Poe of yours?"

"Hue?" I frowned in confusion. "I have not seen him since last night. Why do you ask?"

He ignored me. He looked like he was considering the information and how to respond to Hue's absence. "I will be attending a banquet at the castle tonight," he suddenly stated. Now that he mentioned it, his hair was held back by a ponytail; usually he only did this when he had to go the castle with his family. Apparently it was the compromise Mr. Ansel had made with Vaati when he insisted on having long hair. "I will be unavailable for most of this evening," he added.

I had no idea why he was bothering to tell me this. Especially in person; rarely did he come fetch me himself, he sent those bats instead. For him to just show and tell me something had me suspicious.

"Why are you here?" I asked again.

"I would avoid being here later if you have any attachment to the witch," he warned instead of answering. "I will be leaving a sentry with you." Before I could protest, one of the creatures suddenly appeared in front of me. "I would consider bothering that knight to accompany you as well."

I was about to ask him to explain when he held up his hand to silence me. He smirked and that is when he vanished from the room. He had teleported. I stared in awe, but then I became slightly angry. He had learned yet another spell that could potentially be very annoying. Actually, it already was considering he had shown up and left without giving a proper explanation.

The bat fluttered in front of me, its single red eye focused on me. I sighed, knowing that for the rest of the night the creepy thing would be staring at me. Not to mention the warning Vaati gave me. Whatever was happening, Syrup was somehow in danger if I stayed here. If I were to believe him, I would be forced to sneak out. What really threw me was Vaati suggesting I go visit Link. If only Vaati gave me his reasoning instead of being so cryptic about his motives. It would save me time and let me make informed decisions. I did not like that he expected to listen to him simply because he told me to do something.

Syrup called me back downstairs, her voice demanding and obviously fed up with my avoidance. I sighed, knowing there was no more running away. For now, I would listen to her complaints. Tonight I was going to sneak out, I had decided, because if Vaati bothered to warn me, it must be important.

"Stay out of sight," I whispered to the sentry, not knowing if it turn invisible or not. It likely could, considering Vaati's skill at creating the odd bat creatures.

It squeaked in response. I nodded and walked through my door to the stairs. I was prepared for the needless lecture that surely lied ahead.

The streets were very dark tonight. Clouds, and perhaps a coming storm, blocked the light of the moon and stars from illuminating the night. I had made my way to the east side of town, not entirely sure what to do with myself. Syrup had lectured me for quite a while before finally deciding to go to bed. I had not said much, choosing only to answer with simple yeses or noes. I made no promises to uphold her rules, but I still felt slightly bad for deceiving her and sneaking out. No matter how much I tried to justify my actions by telling myself it was for her safety and not simply my enjoyment, I generally felt guilty for my actions. I could tell her concern was genuine; she feared me getting hurt, or worse, killed.

I shook my head, trying to concentrate on where I was going rather than my thoughts. In choosing to come to the east side of town, I risked stumbling upon guards. The east side was had many of the middle and upper class housing, which is why the number of guards stationed here was more dense than other areas. Usually I avoided such guarded areas, but tonight I had come here on a whim. Well, perhaps more than a whim. Link lived in this district.

Suddenly I heard a few voices around the next corner, causing me to duck into the shadows of the nearest building. It was a few men, possibly even guards if the occasional metallic sounds were armor pieces knocking together. They were speaking in almost hushed tones, making it had to make out what they were saying at first. It took a moment for me to concentrate on their voices and not the background noises of the night.

"What do you think happened?" a younger sounding man asked quietly. "Is it possible a monster got into town?"

"I hope that's not the case," another guard added. "But then that would mean a person did this."

"Can someone even do this? I mean… it's bad. Really bad." The young guard seemed nervous, his voice uneven and barely above a whisper.

"Yeah. This is one of the worst things I've seen in years," a third guard added. He sounded the most experienced of the group. He spoke in a hushed, but otherwise normal tone. He did not seem as bothered by whatever they were looking at. "Revous, go get the grave keeper and inform him we'll be taking a body over soon."

"Yes, sir!" I heard the young guard's footsteps echo as he quickly walked away.

"I'll stay here, you go back to the barracks and tell anyone around that there may be a monster in the city," the apparent leader of the group dismissed the other guard.

I backed into the wall as much as I could when I heard the guard coming my way. He jogged past me, missing my location in the shadows. Once he was well away, I cautiously walked forward, being sure not to make a sound. I wanted to know; curiosity would not allow me to simply walk away.

As I got closer, I could see the glow of a torch lighting the narrow street. I stopped, nearly vomiting at the smell of blood in the air. I turned away as soon as I saw the dark pool spilling onto the street. I covered my mouth as I walked well away from the scene, wishing I had not looked in the first place. Not only was the scene horrific, I was reminded of the Bokoblin I had killed only last night. I was not used to seeing such things. Blood bothered me; it always bothered me. I could not place the emotion I felt upon seeing it, but it made me immensely uncomfortable.

I leaned against a building and stared at the sky, trying to calm down and forget what I had seen. The moment I thought I would be fine, I felt a chill run up my spine. My skin seemed to crawl with a bizarre mixture of fear and anger. It took a moment to pinpoint my discomfort, but the answer only made me more unsettled. I could sense Hue nearby, perhaps within a few hundred feet, but with him I could sense something else. Two other Poes traveled with him; two that I did not recognize. They felt different from Hue and even the sisters. They seemed more malevolent, if I had to describe the chilling feeling I got from their mere presence.

I quickly went the opposite direction. The feeling they gave me was completely wrong and it terrified me. I did not want them anywhere near me. I nearly ran to Link's home on the edge of the eastern district. Without even thinking I knocked on his door and shifted my wait impatiently. When I heard someone walking, I almost bounced up and down, hoping he would just open the door and let me in. The second the door opened I barged in and closed the door behind me.

"Eivie?" Link yawned, trying to keep his eyes open. "Why are you here?"

I was too busy trying to slow my breathing and silence the sound of my heart beating to answer.

"What's wrong?" He sounded more awake now. "Did something happen?"

"I…" I had no idea what to tell him. "I was out walking and I think I saw a monster."

"In the city?" he nearly shouted. "Are you okay? Where at? Did you tell someone?"

"I am fine. I just… got somewhat scared and… came here, I guess. I was closer to the middle of town but still in the eastern district. You are the first person I have told because I am still unsure if I saw anything or not."

Link went to the other side of the room where a wooden wardrobe sat. He opened the doors. "We need to go tell the knights and get you back home." He pulled a chain mail tunic on over his beige shirt, and then another green tunic over the top of the mail. He quickly put on a pair of boots. Link fastened his sword to his back and grabbed his shield. "Come on, I'll keep you safe."

I reluctantly followed him out of the house. Hue and the other two had been drawing nearer. I had a feeling they knew where I was and that they would soon be upon Link and I judging by how fast they were traveling. They were likely flying above the buildings, meaning they had little obstacles to avoid.

"Link," I said nervously, stopping. We were in an empty area devoid of any people.

Link stopped a few feet away from. "What is it?"

"Link, we should stay here."

"What are you talking about? We need to go tell the guards!" He turned away, determined to continue on to the castle.

I saw a gold blur suddenly appear on Link's side, ready to slam a flaming lantern into his head.

"Link," I screeched, tackling him the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack Hue had aimed at Link. I stumbled to my feet and wasted no time helping Link up as well. He drew his sword as I turned to face Hue. "What are you doing, you despicable creature?"

Hue laughed, something he rarely did. "Despicable? You are the one that deserves such a title."

I stared at the Poe, not understanding him.

The sound of Link drawing his sword caught my attention. "A Poe?"

"What is the meaning of this Hue?" I shouted, my hands forming into fists as I glared at him.

He floated away, taking a position well out of Link's reach. His eyes glowed in the darkness, focused on me. Suddenly two other creatures floated down, placing themselves between Hue and me. The new monsters looked like a pieced together doll, stiches seemingly holding them together. Both of them carried a blue-flamed lantern by their feet. Each one held a scythe, both ready to attack with their horrifying weapons.

"Lanterns?" Link mumbled.

"You are the one," a scythe wilding monster stated.

"The one that betrayed the master," the other added.

"You are to be eliminated," the creatures said perfect unison.

One flew forward, scythe poised to slash me in half. I barely avoided the attack, retreating back to Link's side. He looked confused.

I remembered him mumbling "lanterns" a few seconds ago. "Can you not see them?"

"See what?" Link sounded just as panicked as I was.

"Carrying the lanterns are two ghosts, both with scythes." I pushed him to the side when the other came in for an attack. "Just avoid being near the lanterns for now," I advised. I needed a plan, which was hard to make considering the impish Poes kept swinging their scythes around.

I tried to use a jinx spell, just hoping to distract the Poe for a moment to retreat. When the spell failed, I found one of the Imps flying towards me. When I thought it would reach me, the sentry Vaati had left me flew in front of me. Its eye glowed for a second before a bright beam of light shot at the Poe. The creature retreated from the beam, only the scythe being hit with the intensely hot laser. That proved magic based attacks were effective, but a sword was another matter.

"Try breaking the lantern," I yelled to Link. "Just be quick and move away as soon as you can."

Link nodded and went about the plan immediately. He held up his shield as he tried to get closer to the Imp Poe. He charged forward, not allowing the creature time to attack. He swung his sword. The Poe hissed as it quickly retreated into the air and out of reach. Its retreat showed the lantern was vulnerable to physical attacks. Link understood this and remained focused on the Poe, waiting for a chance to fight back. That left me to deal with the other imp and Hue if he decided to join the fight.

It was then I noticed the imp I was focused on had a bloodstained scythe. I growled, knowing that it had been the one to attack that poor person the guards' found dead in the street. The Poes had killed an innocent man while searching for me. I no longer felt any hesitation about dismantling the creature piece by piece.

"Sentry, distract it," I ordered the bat. It squeaked before flying in the face of the Poe and attempting to blast it with a laser.

I walked forward, flexing my hands at my sides. I had gone from completely terrified to irrationally livid. Rage was the sole emotion I felt in that moment. The blue flames of the jinx spell appeared, my arms shrouded by the cold flames. As the Poe moved out of the way of the sentry's attack, I came from behind and showered the creature in fire. It screeched as it tried to fly in to the air. I grabbed the scythe's staff, preventing the Poe from escaping. It was fully visible now and no longer a phantom invulnerable to attack. I managed to wrestle the scythe from its desperate grip. While raising the weapon above my head, I stomped on the lantern, hearing it crack. The Poe wailed once before letting out an enraged scream, struggling to free itself without further damaging the precious lantern.

It took only a moment to let the scythe fall and imbed itself into the helpless imp.

It took only a moment to lift it again. And again. And again. I had no control over myself; I just kept slashing at the now dead creature, feeling only anger and… and glee.

"He has the right to fear you," Hue commented, causing me to stop and stare at him. "The one that lost has risen again, it seems."

I finally released the scythe and let it fall to the ground with a loud clatter. My body shook as I stared at the aftermath of what I did. The anger was gone and replaced with fear and repulsion at my actions. I had not meant to do this. I had not wanted this. But why? Why did I? Why?

"You will not live for long." Hue began to fade away from sight and drifted upwards into the sky. "It is clear you must be wiped from existence once more."

I could not find my voice. I wanted to beg Hue to tell me what he was talking about. He faded into nothingness, leaving the area and perhaps even Castle Town. I could only stare after him, my body shaking.

"Eivie?" Link's voice sounded uncertain. "Are you… What happened?"

I slowly turned, not sure what to do. He heard me talking with the Poes. He saw the jinx spell. He saw my unnecessary cruelty in killing that Poe. How would I even begin to explain my actions? To prove I was not a monster myself?

A/N- Sorry for the sort-of cliffhanger! I just didn't want to jam everything into one chapter. As you can see, things are starting to get interesting (I hope). The conflict is here and making itself know! Vaati knows more than he's letting on, Link just saw Eivie with her Poe "friends", Hue has made it clear he works for someone else, and Eivie had a bit of an uncontrollable anger problem. I won't end on a fight scene next chapter either (I think two in a row is enough). Thank you for reading and all that! Seriously, I really appreciate you all! Glad to see Awkward passerby and Miss Ominous again in the reviews! Seeing those made me immediately begin work on this chapter, actually. If the rating needs to be changed or trigger warnings added or something, feel free to tell me so. Right now, I think its fine, but that's just me.

Awkward passerby- I'm sorry for the cliffhanger again! At least it's not a life or death situation, right? I try to end it with a little lead in for the next chapter, sort of like a preview, I guess. I also don't want to give out all the information right away to keep things interesting and somewhat suspenseful. I hope it doesn't frustrate you too much. Thank you for reviewing again!

Miss Ominous- Yep, the pace has quickened. I knew after I introduced the characters I could unleash the plot and all the conflict that comes with it! And Hue is being a cryptic bugger and not spilling everything yet. Soon, though, his master will become known. Thank you for reviewing again!

-AwkwardBlackCat