Sorry for the delay, slowly working my book up to publishing standard. Thanks for all your reviews and yeah, I should shut up and write.

Chapter 22

Porcelain Hearts

When the pack returned home, Epona was already there. It was still raining. She had beaten up badly. A cut over her eye, gases on her legs and rump. Most of them had been bandaged, but she looked utterly exhausted. Her head hung low, her ears drooping. Link returned to his hylian form.

"We weren't strong enough." Epona whimpered.

Link put a hand on her warm wet neck. He took his scarf off and wrapped it round her neck.

"I'm sorry."

Epona looked up at him, her soft brown eyes filmed with tears. Link stroked her nose and hugged her head.

"I'm so weak…"

Link shook his head.

Silver and Dal sat to the side, watching horse and boy. This war had done so much damage. Hurt so many people. None more than these two.

Link slowly led Epona to the spring. The mare despondently plodded after him.

"Come on, we'll wait inside." Silver said, leaping up onto the platform leading to the house.

The thick foliage sheltered Ordona's spring from the worst of the rain. The soft pitter-patter of rain on the leaves made a beautiful lullaby. The water was warm and healing. Link led Epona to the rocks near the edge, by the waterfall. Picking up a first-aid and grooming kit from behind the rocks, he got to work.

With a soft flannel, he cleaned the wounds with the healing waters of the spring. His calloused hands delicately applied the healing salve and wrapped fresh bandages around the wounds. As he worked, he hummed softly. Having dressed her wounds, he took a soft brush and begun grooming Epona's cut. The steam from the spring made the atmosphere warm and soothing. By rubbing the brush in circular motions, he felt the mare's muscles relax. Mud and blood dripped from coat, swirling in the water around them.

"Thank-you." Epona nickered.

Link smiled and shook his head, combing her matted tail out.

"You know? When you were little, you and your sister always use to plait my hair. Then when you finished, I'd carry you on my shoulders and we'd play king of the castle by the big pine. And every year on my birthday, your sister would always wake me up early. She'd take me to Phaira's spring and she'd braid my hair into the most beautiful plait you ever saw. She would even weave in flowers and leaves. Then we'd put on our best dresses and sneak out to Hyrule Town. It was always so much fun. Most of the market stalls would just be opening up. We'd go to all the dress stalls. We could never afford to buy them of course, but the shopkeepers were always nice and let us try them on. We'd buy some nice material from them and go to a café or something. There was this nice one that we went to, in the plaza. We'd sit out on the terrace and drink tea and even buy a little bit of cake. We'd gossip and laugh and reminisce. It was something the two of us always did. Even after we became friends with Nubia and after you were born, it was this sort of ritual we did. Then we'd sneak back home and be in time for breakfast. After breakfast, your sister would make the dress. I would help where I could, making the ornaments and matching jewellery. Then that evening, when everyone in the village would gather for the dance, I'd wear the dress we made. It was always the best day of the year. We'd be happy, without a care in the world. When your sister begun work as a guardian, she still always made sure she was around for my birthday. It's funny really. How it's those sort of little things you miss the most."

Link smiled, even though he was about to cry. He fondled Epona's ear with one hand while digging out the necklace he had taken from the clearing with the other.

He lifted up the amber pendant and showed it to Epona.

"That's my mother's! But where did you-?"

Link tied the necklace around Epona's neck. It hung down between her shoulders.

"You found it then. What's left of our home?"

Link dipped his head, his shoulders beginning to tremble.

"Makes sense the forest sage would choose there." Epona nudged Link's chest when she saw his shoulders cave and his hero mask finally fall from his face. "I'm sorry you had to see that. You were too young. You didn't deserve that. None of us did."

And so they stayed there, in the spring like that. Sharing each other's pain. It was a poignant scene. That such a great and peaceful species was reduced to a few sorrowful souls, licking each other's wounds and trying to pick up their pieces of their shattered porcelain hearts.

That night, Link silently crept out of the house. He'd had enough. No more pain. No more suffering. This poor village had seen enough of that. Already, Uli was desperately trying to save her husband, whose wounds were so grievous many feared he would not last the night and if he did, whether or not he would ever fully recover. Bo had finally been coaxed to sleep. Although his moans of despair could still be heard across the village. Link refused to allow anyone else to harm the village to which he owed so much. And if that mean charging headlong into danger, possibly even a trap, then so be it.

He mouthed a silent goodbye to Epona as she slept in her stable and stole away into the night.

The woods seemed bathed in quicksilver, the light of the moon giving them an almost ethereal glow. Shimmying up a tree, Link listened intently. Searching for one spirit song in particular. The sound of the storm had died almost completely. The wistful melody of the lost woods could be heard from the north. The spirit songs from the village and the animals could also be heard. Then…there, hidden amongst the harmonious polyphony of spirit songs. A horrible dissonant grating melody that didn't belong. Link couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it was somewhere in the forest. Near the forest temple perhaps.

Sliding down the trunk of the tree, he shifted into his wolf form. The forest towered above him.

Pricking his ears, he headed towards the forest temple.

Trill was asleep, thankfully. Link pricked his ears, listening intently Where was it…? Where…

There.

Returning to hylian form, he grabbed a sturdy looking root and climbed down it so that he was underneath the bridge leading to the entrance of the forest temple.

The spirit song was muffled, as if it were coming from a long way away. Yet it had to be within the forest area. So where could it be coming from? Unless it were from, underground?

Dropping down onto a large root below, he surveyed the gorge. Nothing down there, save for a very deep river. The remains of an ancient lake or river or something. He'd never been down there, so it was highly probable. He touched the wall of earth, running his hand over the worn rock. It was rough still. And it had an almost salty smell. Not a lake, but a sea. Link though smugly to himself. And where there was a sea there was no doubt caves.

Link scanned the cliff face. Nothing.

He stepped onto an earthen ledge in order to better see the other side. The rock crumbled and gave way, sending Link plummeting with it.

"Hey? You alright?" A voice said.

Link groaned and opened his eye a crack. The world was blurry and bright.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

Link groaned and opened his eyes fully. Silver was staring down at her, concerned yes but strangely cheerful. Link put a hand to his head and propped himself up on one elbow.

"You fell some, what, 30ft?"

Link peered up at the hole he'd left. A root had fallen partway with him.

"Yeah, it liked your company that much it decided to join you."

Link growled and tried to get to his feet. The world swum dangerously.

"Oh no you don't. Sit still and try not to be sick." The wolfos pushed him back. Link moved round so that his back was up against the cliff face.

"Oh, yeah you weren't actually that hard to find. I just looked for the trail of destruction." Link narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Maybe not this time. But you really need to learn not to think your monologue's out loud. I read every word." Link growled, offended. "Hey, I haven't got this triforce thingy worked out either. I just hope Zelda didn't read it. Goddess, imagine what she'd do if she found out what we were planning."

That didn't bode thinking about.

"I checked out the ledges. There's a cave mouth not some 20ft down from where we are."

Link smiled and patted Silver's head.

"Keep the compliments coming." Silver replied, lapping up the praise like a cat does warm cream.

Silver lay down, her head on Link's knee.

"Do you think Rusl will be alright?"

Link wanted to nod. But there was still that deep rooted fear inside him, a small voice that said he would never be alright again.

"Sometimes, on days like this, I wish none of this had ever happened." Silver whispered. "That I had died in the place of my mother. She would probably have handled this a lot better than I am."

Link shook his head slowly, stroking Silver's fur.

"You're just too polite."

Link couldn't explain in words just how much Silver meant to him. She was to him what he was to Epona. Someone he would give everything to protect. Silver, thick-skinned and snappy yet easily one of the kindest and most loyal friends he could ever have had. She was someone who Link could truly trust to do what was right. To see these cracks appears in her heart was horrible. Like beautiful sculpted porcelain cracking and breaking from overuse. Silver never deserved any of that. She should've been able to grow up peacefully and happily, to be able to enjoy and relish her childhood. To grow up with someone caring for her. It wasn't fair.

So many porcelain hearts shattered by this evil. So many lives broken. Abused too much. With no respite, no one to take the burden if only for a little while. So much fragmented, broken porcelain and too many fragmented, broken lives. And for what? Power? Revenge? Where is their revenge? Why is it, that at the end of the day it is the good people who try to help and to relieve that in the end are destroyed? Why is every victory bitter with the metallic taste of innocent blood?

Because unlike porcelain, lives cannot be glued back together, their scars never fade.

Ok, I really need to write some happy scenes because this is way too depressing. Not helped by the fact I just finished reading the second book of the Hunger Games. Guess I ought to play some Kirby or something. And my piano exam is so soon….TT^TT…

That aside, do review and hopefully there'll be no more pottery metaphors.