Chapter 10

They had not returned the next night. While I should have felt relieved over the Poes' absence, I knew it was only a matter of time. Perhaps they had been thinking of a new strategy, especially now that Vaati claimed to be leaving.

I had not seen him since, but that honestly meant nothing. He could still be around, avoiding me, or I simply could be missing him. I could not find him before, so why should it be any different now?

My frustration caused me to scrub more furiously. I had the misfortune of being splashed with a purple potion this morning. Now, seeing as how I still planned on going to the festival today, I had to remove the stain. I would not embarrass Link and Zelda by having a gigantic stain on my already plain clothes. My fingers began to feel numb from how tight I grasped the scrub brush.

With a sigh, I dropped the brush back into the dish of water. I could not tell if the stain was completely gone with the fabric being wet, but, with how long I cleaned the blasted thing, it should be gone. Having one nicer dress was a real pain, but clothes were horridly expensive. Only nobles could afford having several outfits.

I walked back to the front of the shop. While it was not open, Syrup had me organizing potions, taking stock of what we had, what would be spoiled soon, and other fun inventory questions. I would be busy until the afternoon at this rate.

Link knocked on the door a few hours later. When I answered, I was happy to see a smile on his face. All of the extra patrols had been souring his mood lately, so this was a welcome sight. He wore his green tunic with chain mail underneath, his sword and shield with him as well. He had just come from working.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded cheerfully, walking past him and outside as he held the door open for me. "Will Zelda be joining us?"

"Yeah, I talked to her yesterday. She said she could come for a while if some other knights were there to escort her. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. She is a princess, after all. She cannot be wandering the streets without protection."

"She doesn't agree with that," he chuckled. "She had complained about the other knights accompanying her; she said 'Link and I can handle anything that dares attack us. We are not helpless children.'"

"She is probably right, though." I smiled and giggled once. "She can be scary when she is mad or determined." Link had provided me with some entertaining tales of Zelda yelling at Vaati a few different times. Apparently even Vaati knew to back down when Zelda decided she had had enough of his tricks. Although he never learned to stop with his pranks; his pride would not allow for defeat.

Link nodded and fell silent for a while as we made our way to the castle. The streets were more lively than usual. Colorful banners were strung along the buildings. People formed large groups, chattering away about numerous topics. Music filled the air; the cheerful singing and instruments further lightening the mood of the city. The troublesome last few days seemed like a distant memory.

"Looks like it might rain later," Link mumbled as he looked at the sky. He sounded disappointed.

"And it might not," I added, trying to be positive for once. If only for a few hours, I wanted to be happy and stress-free, like everyone else seemed to be today.

Link laughed. "Yeah, you're right. You're sure cheerful today."

I nodded, smiling. "I guess I am."

When we made it the castle gates. Zelda was already waiting; she stood up from her seat on the side of the fountain to greet us. Two armored knights followed behind her, staying a few feet back to allow some sort of privacy.

"Hey Zelda," Link greeted.

"Hello Link, Eivie," Zelda grinned. "Where should we go first? I have heard that there are some lovely crafts for sale. Oh, a maid mentioned this one stand has absolutely fantastic food."

"I think food is a good idea." Link quickly added, "I haven't eaten since this morning!"

"Let us go find something to eat then," I agreed.

After we had eaten countless treats, we wandered the market square. A few people had their shops open for the festival and were selling various crafts like handmade jewelry, clothes, carved decorations, and many other things. Link had been distracted by a stand of wooden carvings, mentioning that his father's birthday was coming up and one of the decorations may be a good gift. Zelda and I looked over a table of jewelry made of polished stones and inexpensive fabric strings. They had a certain charm to them, I guess. I turned over a necklace with a pale green stone, sort of wanting it for a silly reason.

"Hey," Link said as he rejoined Zelda and me.

"Did you find a gift?" Zelda asked.

"No, I think I'll get him something else. He needs a new sword sheath, so I think I'll try to find one of those. You find anything?"

Zelda shook her head.

I placed the necklace back onto the table. I could not afford anyways. "No. Not really."

"I think I need a break walking," Link said. "Want to go find somewhere to sit down?"

Zelda and I agreed, so we all went to find a nice spot to take a break. It was now evening, the sun slowly moving towards the horizon. We sat down on a bench near the center of the town, listening to the bards' music.

"How is your father, Zelda," Link asked quietly. "Is he any better?"

"He is… a little better. The doctors are still unsure what ails him." She paused, seeming apprehensive for a moment. "I would hate to place blame, but… it is very likely the Gerudo tried to poison him. If it was not them… then it would be one of us, and that is a scary thought."

"It is. If we can't even trust the people around us…" Link trailed off. After a moment he added, "I hope your father recovers."

"I do as well," I quietly said.

"Thank you for your concern," she smiled weakly.

We were silent for a while, listening to the music. The sky had gathered more clouds. With any more it would get dark outside even quicker than usual.

"Eivie," Zelda suddenly began, "you were… friends with Wendal, right?"

I did not answer right away. She must have heard that from Link. "Acquaintances, more so."

"Do you know where he went? His father has mentioned that he disappeared a few days ago."

"A few of the knights had mentioned that," Link added.

"I do not know." I looked at the ground, frowning. "He had not told me where he would be going, but had mentioned leaving."

"Oh," was their response. The subject faded away after that, seeing as how there were no answers to be found.

"Have there been many monster incidents lately?" I asked Link.

"More of the same: Bulblins, Bokoblins, everything, really. Yesterday there were a flock of Kargarok that flew over the southern fields. Thankfully there were no more attacks on people…that were reported anyways. Have there been any Poes around?"

"No." With that response, Link gave a worried, confused look. "They will likely be back, though."

Link nodded his head. "We'll be ready for them."

My lips twitched into a smile for a second. I mumbled a thank you.

After that we talked about other things, trying to forget the troubles around us for the rest of the evening. When the sun began to set behind the building wall of clouds, we decided it was time to return home. Link had to get ready for his next shift and Zelda had her curfew to worry about. We milled about for a bit, avoiding parting for a moment. We decided to go to the potion shop first, seeing as how Link and Zelda were going to the same place.

The street was near empty, which was nice considering how congested the market had been. The two knights that accompanied Zelda had stayed a few paces back; I only noticed them now because their clinking armor. I had been caught up in my own thoughts that it took a moment for me to realize what was nearby.

A wave of uneasiness hit me, stopping me in my tracks. Link and Zelda abruptly stopped as well. Before us were an army of ReDead, slowly stumbling forward, moaning. A few other people were nearby; some screamed in surprise while others ran.

Link and the other knights wordlessly sprang into action. Link and one knight took a position in front of me and Zelda, while the other went to find warn the town about the threat.

And, if the army of ReDead were not horrifying enough, I could sense something else in front of us, only a few feet away. My attention was solely focused on what I could sense, nearly blocking out everything else.

A dark figure shrouded in a cloak of shrieking bats rose from the shadows. Its eyes glowed an eerie, vibrant green. It held an imposing scythe decorated with a Stalfos skull. This Poe had its own identity, it was a powerful creature that had made a name for itself.

The ReDead lethargically closed the distance between us. I heard a few knights yell about finding reinforcements. Link told Zelda to stay close to him until they could find her a way to escape. She protested, saying she could protect herself and that he needed to focus on defending the other citizens nearby.

"To think I would be here to kill something so pathetic looking," the ghostly creature complained. It had a deep, reverberating voice, making it sound like a male. "A mortal melded with a Poe has my Lord feeling threatened? Hue, are you absolutely certain you have not made a mistake?"

Hue faded into existence above the other ghost. "No, Gomess, this is the one," Hue answered irritably.

"What…" I began meekly, barely catching the one called Gomess' attention. "What do you know about me? Who is this Lord of yours?" I managed a near-shout, surprisingly. My hands were shaking with how scared I was.

"Lord Jahalla, the master of Poes. Forgotten even that, have you?" It glanced back to Hue, ignoring me as if I were not there. "Hue, she is not very impressive. Calling her a threat is calling you powerful. If anything, she is making a mockery of its past glory."

"Just get rid of her, Gomess.," Hue sighed. Obviously Gomess was not interested in taking orders from the weaker Poe.

"Tell me everything you know, creature. What am I and why are you here?"

"Even your mind has fallen to madness; not a single memory from then. You are but a pathetic human like this. Not worthy of a death by my blade." Gomess rested its scythe on its shoulder, the bats changing to quiet squeaks rather than irritated screeches. "I honestly don't want to waste time with you. Hue, how have you not eliminated her yourself? Too scared, perhaps?"

"She is stronger than she appears," Hue grumbled and added defensively. "Also that sorcerer had been watching her. Is not angering him a good enough excuse, Gomess?"

Gomess chuckled at this. The low sound was absolutely disturbing. "Yes, the sorcerer had been preventing any real attempts to enter the city. How lucky it is he abandoned the girl." Gomess laughed once more before continuing. At this point it was obvious he had lost interest in me and would rather ramble about things to Hue. "The irony that the betrayer is abandoned by its allies and then killed by former comrades! Oh, Hue, while you failed at finding an interesting opponent, you have woven an interesting tale. Jahalla will be very impressed as he kills you for your idiocy."

"You infernal creature," I growled suddenly, no longer tolerating its teasing. "If you came here to fight and kill me, then do so. I grow bored of your tasteless commentary with that half-witted Poe." The words seemed to flow out of my mouth, my brain not making any real input.

Gomess cut off whatever its next words to Hue would have been. Instead Gomess returned his attention to me with a cold stare. After a moment of wordless glaring, its mouth formed a demonic smile. "Perhaps you are not as far gone as first thought. What is it you call yourself by? I want to know the name of the one I will dismember and feed my bats as a reward."

I stood with my hands clasped behind my back; the pose returning after a few years absence. How natural it felt as I stood defiantly against the creature questioning my ability. "Eivie. And your bats will not have the pleasure of feasting upon me." I took a moment to look over my shoulder, remembering I had not been alone. Link and Zelda continued to fight off ReDead; Link slashed them apart and Zelda cast light magic that burned the monsters. They did take time to glance at me, their expression clearly stating how strange my change in demeanor was.

"Such defiance in the face of your inevitable doom," Gomess stated over the growing din of noise the excited bats were creating. "Eivie, you shall die here." The phantom raised its scythe, showing it was now convinced I was worthy enough to kill.

Before it got a chance to attack, I managed to take a look around the chaotic streets in hopes of finding a weapon. Without a weapon, I would be left using solely a jinx spell to defeat a powerful creature. There was also no way I could wrestle the scythe away from Gomess like I had down with the Bokoblin and Imp Poe.

The light from Hue's lantern reflected off the armor of a nearby corpse. I took a chance and ran straight for the body, hoping to find something useful. I could hear Gomess laughing at my urgency; he had yet to make a move and seemed to be waiting. I grabbed the sword, trying my best to avoid looking at the dead knight. Guilt for his death could wait for another time.

The sword felt light in my hands when I compared it to the pilfered machete and scythe I had used previously. I gave a practice swing as I walked closer to Gomess. The blade could cut through anything given enough time and power, I decided. Gomess cackled as he rose a few feet into the air, enough to hover above the ground but still within my reach. Hue moved away, being the coward he was, not wanting to be a part of the fray.

Gomess suddenly held his arms in the air, the horde of bats swarming around him, screeching shrilly. A group of the black bats broke away from Gomess, quickly flying towards me with sharp claws and teeth ready to tear into my skin. Because of how unexpected the attack was, I had no time to prepare a counter attack, leaving me to pathetically attempt to duck away from the angry swam.

My ears were ringing with the high-pitched calls surrounding me. I covered my face instinctively, my arms then taking the brunt of the damage. The bats' claws cut into my skin, leaving small but painful lacerations. A few latched onto me and bit down so hard to the point I could not even shake them off. The few seconds the bats surrounded me felt like an eternity.

I concentrated and managed to cover my body in a jinx spell. As I moved my arms down, I caught sight of several bats fleeing back to Gomess and, the less fortunate ones, flopping on the ground as they burned to death. I quickly assessed my wounds, noting how droplets of blood ran down my arms and how stains were forming near the tears in my clothing. With a few more rounds of bats, it would become a problem, but, right now, as adrenaline fueled my body, pain was considerably dulled. I could manage this, I told myself.

"Already finished?" Gomess taunted. More bats seemed to surround him, replacing any I had managed to kill.

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch to form a smile.

Do not underestimate me, fool.

Gomess sent another bunch of bats towards me. Instead of waiting for them to reach me, I cast a jinx spell, the blue flames engulfing the bats. I had no time to marvel at how much stronger the spell suddenly was. Gomess swung his scythe, dispelling the flames, and flew at me.

An arrow cloaked in a blinding light glanced across Gomess, sending it into a small retreat to judge where the attack had come from. I risked looking over my shoulder, seeing Zelda readying another arrow to shoot a nearby ReDead. She had taken a moment to protect me using her light magic.

While Gomess seemed to be in shock, I sent another plume of fire at it. The flames struck the left side of his body, instantly killing the bats in the immediate area. Gomess growled in anger rather than pain, seeming like the jinx had little effect. Gomess summoned more bats easily, negating any progress I had made. He prepared to attack once more, sending bats to distract from his attack.

Persistent, but predictable.

Without Zelda's help, Gomess was able to fly right in front of me even after I had killed the swarm. He swung his scythe down with such speed I only saw a blur of movement. On instinct, I had snapped my eyes closed, waiting for death.

A gleeful, deranged laugh rang out… from me. It just happened when I saw how perplexed and dumbfounded Gomess looked with his mouth hanging open and eyes squinted. Instead of being confused to how I was alive, I cackled away. It took a moment for me to become conscious that the scythe's blade was imbedded in the ground beneath my feet. I held up my hand, completely baffled to how I survived a blow through my head and body. I could see through my hand; I had become incorporeal like a Poe. But, despite how marvelous this ability was, I noticed something else more alarming. My nails had grown longer, appearing sharpened and the purple had darkened. The skin of my hands seemed even paler than normal; a disturbingly white-gray color, actually.

Gomess growled as he raised his scythe from the ground. "I will not be made a fool!" He let out a loud screech, rivalling the horrific noises made by the ReDead.

He called forth a cloud of bats so dense, seeing became impossible. Only the chaotic fluttering of wings and flashes of fangs and claws were visible. For a moment, I had been able to remain a ghost and avoid the bats' fury, but I had grown tired alarmingly fast, forcing me to become part of the physical world once more. I blindly swung the sword as I cast jinxes, hoping to kill enough of them to see were Gomess planned to attack.

From above.

I glanced up and aimed the largest flame I could manage into the sky. The blue fire burned the bats, causing them to rain down on me. I caught a glimpse of the spell surrounding a large object, presumably Gomess. Flakey, burnt scraps of fabric fell from above.

Gomess retreated a few feet away, this time affected by the attack. He had been apparently wearing a cloak before, which now disintegrated to ashes. A faintly glowing green orb was now visible in the center of his chest. It had to be a weak point, like a lantern to the average Poe.

I took the initiative to attack first this time, especially because Gomess seemed preoccupied with his destroyed cloak. He noticed my approach, summoning bats once more, but not in as great of numbers.

He is weakening. How disappointing.

I surrounded myself with a jinx spell to keep the bats off of me as I continued forward. He swung his scythe, twirling around in a circle forming a deadly spinning attack. I was forced to retreat until he halted his spinning. Gomess suddenly flew forward at a far greater speed than I thought him capable of. Not knowing how to turn into a ghostly state on-command, I clumsily tried to dodge by jumping to the side. My arm did not get out of the way of the blade, causing me to scream as a nasty cut was made across my upper arm.

Gomess sounded gleeful at the injury, taking a moment to cackle. He did not move away from me, remaining only a few feet away. Despite how painful it was, I forced my injured arm to move and help hold the hilt of the sword.

Gomess caught my movement too late. I had lunged forward, the sword raised above my head as high as I could manage. The blade struck the orb, causing it to crack and begin to shatter. Gomess shrieked as he moved away. He did not make it far, falling to the ground only a few feet away, now too weak to hover in the air. His scythe clattered as he dropped it on the ground, trying to use both hands to hold the precious orb together.

Pathetic creature.

I made my way toward him, dragging the tip of the sword across the ground. His glowing eyes met mine, showing anger, fear, and, perhaps, respect.

"You underestimated me. I may be weaker attached to this human, but I still am superior. Even Jahalla knows this, which is why he hopes you pathetic creatures could eliminate me before he is forced to face me once more," I spoke, feeling as though I was not the one speaking, but under the control of another. Though, at the same time, I knew it was me, a part of me that I had little control over. "Gomess, you have earned my respect."

I slashed the sword, sending him falling onto his back. I stepped onto the splintering orb, beginning to slowly crush it beneath me.

"Jahalla is… is right to fear you," Gomess stammered, hissing in pain, but not struggling to free himself. "But he has beat you before…" He laughed quietly before coughing. "Such a shame I will not see the struggle once more." The orb made a sickening crack. Gomess smirked despite already fading away. "Perhaps we will meet once more in death."

"You will make a good servant, Gomess." I said, even though the creature had faded into nothingness.

My thoughts returned to me and the first thing I did was glance at the wound on my arm. The wound was deep, but blood had stopped flowing out and had become but a slow ooze. I would need to treat it soon and hope for the best. I had confidence in the healing potions of Syrup's, though, and I figured a scar would be all that I was left with.

I glanced at my hands, still seeing how disgusting my nails looked. They were still pointed and claw-like. My skin still had an unnatural grayness to it; not the result of blood loss either. I honestly did not know what to do concerning those changes, instead hopping that they might wear off or something.

I caught a reflection on the sword, quickly jerking my attention to it. Hesitantly, I held up the sword, using the blade as a mirror. I bit my lip, noticing the faint, yellow glowing eyes reflected back at me. Even my eyes had become more Poe-like. It was that change that threw me over the edge. There was no possible way this was related something normal ailment. My appearance now was beyond simply strange for a human; it was bordering completely inhuman. I stared at my own reflection in horror.

"Eivie!" I heard Link shout. "Are you all right?"

I dropped the sword to the ground and refused to turn around to confirm I had heard him. I held my hand in front of my, fixated on the nails and skin. I could not let him see me like this. The jinx spell, the Poes, nothing compared to how much of a monster I seemed now.

"Eivie?" He called again.

It was then I remembered what Vaati had said.

"Monsters and humans will never be accepting of each other."

A/N- I'm back! I've been so busy, so very busy. (It's been seriously ridiculous -_-) I'll probably be updating every two weeks for a while. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Gomess is from Majora's Mask, and Jahalla is from Wind Waker, just in case any of you haven't played those/remember those random enemies. They are both like Poes, so I thought it would be neat to include them and expand on them a bit. There will be more Jahalla to come since he's been revealed to be the leader of the Poes. And Eivie… well, she is finally so dang close to knowing the whole truth. Feel free to guess at what Eivie is (even though the clues have been very small details)! I would like to know what you all think before I let you in on the "secret." And if anyone could tell me how the fight scene was, I would be grateful. I don't really know how I'm doing with those… Just because I can, I think I'll go put the "theme" music I write to on my profile. Go check it out if you like listening to music as you read. Thank you all for reviewing, reading, favoriting, and following! You are all fantastic people! I hope you are all enjoying the story!

Awkward passerby- And that is why I like reviews! You can tell me what you see and how you feel about the story. I agree that the children deserved a good scare, but I also don't want to say Eivie could get away with no consequences. I want to try to make it realistic, I guess? I'm glad you seem to be on Eivie's side, because then she must not be a horrible character. Thank you for reviewing!

Miss Ominous- Really? My chapters are a good length? Iis extremely happy). I had no idea how I was doing with that, but thought I was doing all right. Thank you for saying they're a good length! I sort of feel evil leaving cliffhangers, but, you know, that's what keeps people reading and me writing. Suspense is a motivating thing for me. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest- A new guest! I'm not sure if you made it this chapter yet, or not, because you reviewed chapter one, but, first, thank you for reviewing. I like hearing people's thoughts. I see you're not a fan of those children as well. I had no idea they could have such an impact, but I agree. Just because people are different does not justify being a jerk. Hope you're enjoying the story!