Epilogue
A few weeks later
He had the night patrol again. The moment the sun threatened to set, the townspeople would scramble home, still wary of the night and its monsters. That left Link to wander about town, or stand around, fidgeting at the shadows.
I figured that, perhaps, this would be the best time to see him. It would be easier than if other people saw me, especially after they were all told the horrors of the Arbiter Grounds massacre.
But even though he was alone, I hesitated and followed behind him, keeping to the shadows. Admittedly, I had been doing so for a few days now. I had some difficulty deciding if I should try to see him. I had… requested they say I was dead. I had meant to leave him alone, apprehensive to explain what had happened. I never meant to return to Castle Town, well, not this soon, but it was apparently too difficult to stay away and forget him. I had not been able to stay away a few weeks; years looked to be impossible.
Link stopped walking, causing me to duck back into the alley. He looked around for a second before he leaned on the building behind him. He would be here for a while, standing around with not much to do.
"Gomess," I whispered. The ghost crept out of my shadow, tilting his head to the side. "Have you sent the Sisters to the Arbiter Grounds?"
"Yes," he sighed. "The Forest Keepers keep the forest no more. The Death Sword will be under their watch."
"Good." The Gerudo had done well, sealing away the sword and monster. The talismans kept it from rematerializing. As long as they were in place the Death Sword could not revive or possess anything living. "And Vaati's palace?"
Gomess rolled his eyes. "I have sent some there to watch over it. The sorcerer already had a spell in place that should keep it from decay. Your precious books will not be lost." He paused before moving in closer, his face only a few inches from mine. "What do you plan to do, Eivie? Not play human again, I hope. That would be rather dull."
"If Link does not wish me to leave, I will remain here with him." I glared when Gomess scoffed. "I will have Syrup teach me about potions while I am here. After she dies, I will simply have you fetch some books from the palace. I will not sit around, if that is what you think. Also, that leaves you some time to hunt down darling Hue, yes?"
"Oh, dear Eivie, I suppose I could allow you to stay here while I hunt the cowardly Hue. As long as you recognize that you cannot live here forever among the humans. I do not wish a repeat of events after all of my hard work and generosity." He chuckled quietly at his own dramatics. "It would be terribly boring if you stayed here with these unchanging, weak creatures until the end of time. They die before they can stir up much fun, while we could be quite a duo of monsters."
"Are you insinuating that you would be lonely without me, Gomess?" I held back a laugh. I could see why he was interested in me now. He had been human once, like me. Natural Poes were monsters through and through, but Gomess and I had that speck of humanity left that kept us separate from them. Gomess and I had chosen own fates rather than rise back a mere spirit of hatred.
"Lonely? I would simply be bored. It is creatures with cunning and refined animosity that prove entertaining, like the desert king and the sorcerer." He grinned as he looked over his shoulder, towards Link. "For now, I will leave you to your pleasures. I have a coward hunt to conduct. Until then, Eivie."
With that the dark Poe disappeared back into the shadows, leaving me to consider approaching Link. I edged closer to the opening of the alley. Link was looking at the sky, spaced out and not paying any attention his surroundings. After Vaati was defeated no monster was bold enough to attack the city. I watched him for a few moments more before deciding I needed to get this over with.
I slowly stepped out into the street, making sure not to make any noise. Link did not notice me, still absorbed with his own thoughts. I was a few steps out when his head whipped around, his hand drawing his sword. I was a ghost to him, someone who should be dead according to what he knew. Hostility was to be expected.
"Wh-who are you?" He hesitantly took a step forward. His brows were furrowed as he stared questioningly.
"Link," I began. I found myself unable to speak more when he dropped his sword and ran up to me, throwing his arms around me. I froze, shocked that he had simply ran up and hugged me with just one word.
"I thought… I thought…" He sniffled and held me tighter. "How are?"
"I told them to say I was dead," I admitted.
For a few seconds he kept up the hug, but then took a step back, his hands on my shoulders as he looked at me. His eyes widened when they met mine. His gaze quickly moved to my hands, more specifically my nails. Once he looked back at my face, I smiled just to show off my sharpened canines and the incisors next to them. He was more observant than he was given credit for. It took only moments for him to see that I had not changed since the Death Sword left my body. Even better was the fact my teeth had changed to something inhuman, and, even if he did not notice it, my shadow showed my nature. I had not found a proper way to disguise the horns my shadow revealed.
"Eivie? What happened?"
"I am no longer human."
He was taken aback by my bluntness. He sputtered for a moment before finally asking, "What… do you mean? How?"
"When the Death Sword took over me all of those years ago, I became something not fully human, nor fully monster. Despite his… arrogance and stupidity… Vaati had managed to keep the Death Sword attached to me through a spell. While that had not destroyed the Death Sword, it allowed for me to retain some of its power when it left." I took a step back, his hands slipping off of my shoulders. "I ate Poe souls and that corrupted me until I became an outright monster. Gomess is the same." I looked down at the ground. While I was no longer repulsed by eating the ghosts, Link may find it sickening. "It was Gomess' idea that let me survive drawing on the power of the Death Sword and Poes. It was Vaati's spell that allowed my body to survive the process, as opposed to Gomess'."
"You… ate Poes? And that made you?" Link bit his lip before his eyes flickered with some thought. "All of those bottles," he muttered.
"Yes." I held back a smile, impressed he remembered something so trivial at the time. I had been dying; he did not seem to paying attention to much else. "Every single one was filled with the soul of a Poe. Gomess and I later hunted and devoured many of the Poes that the Death Sword had created."
"I still don't understand how that… could change you from human to…" He shook his head, not wanting to accept the truth I had long denied myself.
"They became part of me." I held my hand over my chest. "When the Death Sword was trapped in me, we were nearly the same being, and I could use its abilities. It is a lot easier to overpower the wills of weaker Poes. I retained my conscious and stole their power to fuel my own. It was really quite ingenious that Gomess had thought to do something so strange. Though I am not fond of the comparison, I am a creature similar to Vaati, I suppose."
His eyebrows were still together, and his lips pressed together tightly, but he nodded his head. "But you're still Eivie, right?"
"I believe so." I looked away from him again, reaching for the necklace I wore. The cracked green pendent comforting me as I clutched it. "I am still your friend, if you will allow such a creature to call you that."
"Of course," he said, closing the distance between us again. He gently put his hand on my cheek, tilting my face up. "As long you're Eivie, I'm your friend."
"You are much too kind," I muttered, letting go of the necklace and placing my hand on Link's shyly. He may change his mind after he begins to age, while I stay trapped in time. That was why I did not want to come back. He would eventually die. Without him I would have no reason to play human.
"Are you… going to stay in Castle Town?"
"I planned on returning to the potion shop and Syrup. She will likely be accepting of my… condition. Otherwise I intend on avoiding people as much as I can." I laughed once. "It will be like old times, I guess. Syrup, you, and perhaps Zelda being the only people I speak with. I guess Gomess will be about from time to time, though. Would that bother you?"
"I mean, as long as he's not attacking people or anything it would be fine." He paused, mulling over a thought quickly. "Is he… trustworthy, then? I mean, he had attacked us once, came back and helped us, asked me to kill you, and then saved you by making you a monster. Sort of mixed messages in my opinion."
"Gomess is strange. I cannot guarantee he will be completely behaved, but he is not one for mindless terrorizing." I left it at that. Trust was hardly the problem. Being useful and a mutual benefit were more of what Gomess sought, and I currently fell under the 'useful for entertainment' category.
"Eivie…" Link trailed off, looking to the side. His hand still rested on my face. "I… um…" Better yet, he was blushing. "Never mind."
I smiled, holding in a laugh. How adorably embarrassed he was. This I liked. Vaati had been very forward, but Link was awkward and unsure. "Are you sure you wish to leave your thought behind? Now is an opportune time to tell me it."
He stuttered again, not really getting any words out. For a moment he stared at me, the blush getting worse. Eventually he just leaned forward, making me blush. His lips pressed against my every so lightly. After a second, he stepped back, his hand sliding off of my face.
We both stood there awkwardly. I had not been expecting him to kiss me; a hug, maybe a peck on the cheek, but not that.
"I…ah… should probably get back to… um… patrolling." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "We could… probably keep talking. If you want."
"That would be fine," I mumbled quickly.
He had to complicate things further. Losing him now… That would ruin me. But, I needed to remember that I was still in the present. I needed to enjoy the time I had with him while it lasted.
I tried so hard to be what I was not.
It was because of my own ignorance that I became what I so deeply feared.
I became a monster.
A/N- That's it! My bittersweet ending of Eivie being a monster, but still having Link. I was originally going to have her die. Permanently. I decided not to, though, because of…reasons… plot reasons. The story took me a year from start to finish, and I am quite happy with it overall.
I would love to know what you all think about the whole story and/or the end! Even if you read this after it is complete, reviews are always welcome!
I will be adding a short chapter about Gomess to the end of this story as a little extra. That way I can respond to some reviews from these chapters. (or I might just PM people because reviews really mean a lot to me and I want to be able to thank you all).
On another note, I have an indirect sequel planned, called Wish Upon a Blackstar. I hope to begin work on that now that Among Humans and Monsters is done. I plan on having Vaati being the central character, as well as Link, with some others from the series and OCs (of course). I will put a full description of it on my profile, if you want to check it out.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading it, and a big thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and reviewed.
Ayako Zetra- She's not dead at least! Well, she's a monster, but, hey, it's not all bad, right? Thank you so much for reviewing on so many of these chapters! It really means a lot to me, and it certainly motivated me to keep going (especially after those two-three months of inactivity). Again, thank you.
LuridLullaby- Thank you for reviewing! I was worried about Eivie seeming like a sue, especially in the beginning. In the end, though, I like how she turned out. I am also happy to hear that everyone was in character because I am never entirely sure. It's a good thing the way I wrote Vaati worked out because I was going to use him as a main character in my next fic. I'm glad you enjoyed the story (well, hopefully the end does not disappoint).
kurapikahunterxhunter- Thank you! I hope you liked the grand finale.