A/N: Hello all! Now, despite the last few chapters having not been all that revision-heavy, this one is undergoing quite a bit of change, particularly the ending. Originally, I took a part of Selphie Kinneas 179's fanfiction , word-for-word, and put it in this chapter. I'm not proud of it, and my older reviewers will notice this. Hope you like it.

Revised as of 13/04/14

Chapter 24: Backstories and Bulblins

"Lady Cariel, what are we to do with your daughter, should you not return?" a young maid asked.

"I will send her to another world through The Gateway. Lilliandil taught me the spell I need. No doubt Astaroth will use every piece of leverage against us that he can. It's for her own safety." a beautiful blonde woman said.

"Mama, no! I don't wanna get sent away!" a young girl wailed before she was put to sleep, her memories hidden, and sent through the Gateway.

"I'm so sorry, Carma."

Carmen's eyes snapped open as she abruptly sat up.

'Just what was that?' the teen wondered as she slowly calmed. Knowing she wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon, she slowly slipped out of the bed, tiptoeing to the door.

"Can't sleep either?" a voice whispered behind the blonde. She turned around to see Bethany, sitting up in her bed. Carmen nodded.

"Strange dream. Not a nightmare, just really weird." she explained. .

"Same here. What was yours?" she whispered as she made her way over to the younger girl, and they both went down the stairs, and out onto the balcony.

"There was a woman with. There were soldiers and servants around her, but it couldn't see the room they were in. One of them called her Lady Cariel, and asked her what to do with her daughter, if she didn't return from woman said something about sending her through 'The Gateway', and someone named Astaroth. After this happened, a little girl, maybe seven years old, said she didn't want to get sent away. She was put to sleep, in the literal sense, not killed, and sent through some sort of magic portal. Just before I woke up, I heard the same woman, Cariel, say 'I'm sorry, Carma.'" Carmen murmured, sitting down on the stairs of the porch.

"Weird," was all Bethany said, frowning.

"What was yours?" she asked, looking over to her.

"Pretty similar. Only, a man named Hael, and the kid was already asleep. Her name was Arynn." the brunette answered numbly.

"Don't those names sound familiar to you?" Carmen asked, frowning deeper.

"A little." Bethany said with a nod of her head. There was a brief silence. "There was a bit more, now that I think of it. Hael mentioned something about... I don't remember what he called it, but it basically worked the same way the Imperius Curse from Harry Potter worked."

"Almost like possession?" the younger asked, to clarify.

"Yeah. He said that the counterspell wouldn't work for long, before he was a puppet to the demon king again, as he put it. I wonder what that means." she answered, thinking aloud. Carmen shrugged, before yawning.

"Wanna go back inside?" she asked, standing up. With a shrug, Bethany did the same, before they crept back upstairs and into their beds.

Earlier...

"It's late," I observed as we reached the eastern entrance to Castle Town, watching the sun grow closer to the horizon. It was just Telma, Ilia, and I. Well, and Ralis. Roran and Link had rode ahead to deal with the monsters some minutes ago. I'd informed Telma of our problem with the Bridge of Eldin already, so they knew they'd only have to clear the southern path for us.

And speak of the devils, they were on their way back.

"This portion of the field is cleared, up to the bridge, but there's something up there you'll want to see." Roran said when they reached us, and I could see anger in Link's eyes. I almost asked, before I remembered. The Bulblin King. Those two had an unpleasant history.

"Okay. You two ready to go?" Telma called to Ilia and myself. We both nodded, and with a snap of the reins, the carriage was moving.

Then I had a thought.

"Hey Roran, I have a question." I called. Roran slowed until he was directly beside my spot in the carriage. "How are old are you?" I asked. "I mean, mom was pregnant with you, when I was sent to Earth. And yet..." I gestured to his barely-physically-older body.

"I'm older than I look, little sister." he responded, a cheeky smile on his face. I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Hey, I'm still chronologically older than you, baby brother!" I shot back. Roran just laughed, before going to catch up with Link. I shrugged it off, preferring to chat with Ilia. It was sad, knowing that she didn't remember anything. But it was a start, I could at least get to know her.

"So you say the bridge to the west has been destroyed, huh? Then our only option is to cross the bridge to the east. You see what that means?"

We were at the lookout, and Telma was pointing towards the distant bridge, where we could see the Bulblin King patrolling.

"You'll have to deal with that thing!" she finished.

"I don't see a problem with that." Link said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes at the green monster. I could see the cold anger in his eyes, and I'm a hundred percent sure Roran did as well, judging by the questioning look he sent me.

"Let's just say we've got a...personal score to settle with it." I answered the unspoken question quietly. Then we began moving again, until we were just barely out of sight from the bridge. Link was on the left side of the carriage, where Ilia was, and Roran on the right. Knowing what was going to happen soon, I moved to the front seat alongside Telma.

"Hey, Link, up here for a moment." I beckoned him up, and he slowly brought Epona up alongside the front of the carriage.

"What do you need?" he asked. I leaned in closer.

"We both know that after his last defeat, that monster will try to protect his sides as much as possible. I was hoping you'd let me borrow your bow." At his questioning look, I continued. "You guys are gonna end up jousting, and he has the key to unlocking the gate to Hyrule Field. When I tell you to duck, I'm going to fire and arrow, and hopefully give you time to snag the key. Then I'll shoot him once more, and that'll give you the opening you need to knock him off the bridge. Okay?"

"Got it, and thanks." he said with the smallest of smiles, taking the bow out of his bag. I still had my quiver. Then I heard Ilia speak.

"Th-Thank you both so much for this. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what're your names?" she asked.

I looked into the carriage, seeing Ilia was looking to me first.

"Rose, Roran's long-lost sister." I said, making a little bit of a joke out of it. She smiled, nodded, and looked to Link.

"I'm... uh... Link." he murmured, and I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"...Link?" For a moment, I almost thought she'd regained her memory, but then she gave a pleasant -and oblivious- smile. "I will never in all my life forget your kindness, Link."

As soon as she looked away, I saw his face fall minutely. I sighed. I knew it was wrong to feel jealous over how much he cared about her. I mean, they had grown up together, right? I'd only been in the picture for little more than two months, and they'd known each other for years and years.

"Little lady, I think you'd best save your thanks until we're safe in Kakariko..." I frowned at the implication that we may not succeed, but said nothing. "This swordsman of ours has great eyes, honey. They're proud and wild...like feral beast. We need a beast right now, to keep the true ones at bay. If we make it to Kakariko safely, we'll just thank him then, OK?"

I winked playfully after Telma finished speaking, and Link snapped from his thoughts. I swear, I saw his ears going red as he gave an awkward little laguh.

"You ready to roll, Roran, Link? You've got to protect these young ones on the way to Kakariko!" Telma said, before we began moving forward.

"Remember the plan," I called to Link, who nodded. Roran fell back until he was behind the carriage. Then, Telma snapped the reins and the carriage began to move. I nocked an arrow, holding it ready in case any unexpected surprises, like the giant wolves, showed up before we got to the bridge.

Thankfully, there were none. Just the green ugly troll that kidnapped the kids, and tried to kidnap two more. I narrowed my eyes at the creature when it sneered at us, showing off the shields on it's arms.

"OK, it's your turn, honey! We're counting on you!" Telma urged Link as he slowly trotted forward onto the bridge.

"Surprised to see me, boy?" it sneered. Then it looked to me, and Ilia, who's head was poking out of the window. "Your little girlfriends look better than last I saw. Maybe when I finish with you, I'll give them to my men. Been awhile since they had any as pretty as them." it added, goading Link. My hand tightened on my bow, aching to shoot at the monster. If Link didn't kill this thing, I would. I didn't know what expression Link had on his face, but I saw his hands clench into tight fists, his whole body tense.

"You talk too much." he remarked, veiled anger in his tone. He drew his sword with his left hand as Epona reared back, before rushing forward. King Bulblin's boar did the same, and I pulled the bowstring back, waiting for the right moment.

"Duck!" I yelled when the time was right, and Link did just as I let the arrow fly, right into the bulblin's chest. It roared in pain, flailing its arms, and I saw that Link managed to yank the key off it's leather strap. King Bulblin didn't notice, as it turned around, rearing up and charging once again. I winced as Link's arm got bashed by the shield, but I was relieved that he managed to stay on Epona, even with his harsh collision into the wall.

One more pass was all it took. I concentrated on the creature's disoriented actions, anticipated its next move, and fired. The beast staggered about helplessly before its idiotic boar plowed into the wall, sending its rider into the lake below.

"Good riddance." I growled as Telma started the carriage moving again, stopping beside Link, who was in the middle of the bridge.

"Nice, honey! Keep up the good work!" she complimented. Link nodded curtly, before riding forward again. Things were relatively quiet, other than a few bulblin archers that were easily taken care of. No, the real trouble started once we got through the gate. That was when more bulblins appeared from utterly nowhere, shooting flaming arrows at both Link, Roran, and the carriage. Luckily for all of our sakes, their aim was horrible, rarely if ever hitting them or the carriage. When they did hit the carriage, Link's Gale Boomerang both dislodged the arrow and -in the case of flaming arrows, which most of them were- blew out the fire.

I gasped when I saw Link take a shot in the arm, and quickly shot an arrow back to the creature that hit him. Then I saw the Kargorok overhead, a lit bomb in it's talons. I aimed carefully, and fired. I hit the creature, and it fell behind the carriage, the bomb it had been carrying taking out two bulblins in the process. What I hadn't counted on was the Bulblin charging at us from the narrow pathway that led to Kakariko gorge, or the arrow the passenger bulblin fired, directly at me.

"Rose, look out!" I heard Roran yell, moments before I saw the arrow. I quickly raised Nayru's love, but the barrier was weak, my concentration was scattered. The arrow went right into the barrier, shattering it, before fiery pain erupted in my torso. I cried out, both in shock and pain, and I looked down. Not the best thing to do. My eyes widened in horror when I saw it.

The crude arrow looked like it had hit just below my rib cage, but the pain was widespread, and tears were blurring my vision, so I couldn't say for sure if I wanted to. It felt as if a burst of flames had erupted beneath my skin – it was excruciating.

I forced myself to pick up my bow, setting another arrow even as my hands shook

"Rose, honey, you're hurt! Let Link and your brother deal with this!" Telma ordered as we entered the narrow path. Thank the goddesses, that meant we were nearly there.

"No! I'm fine! I can handle myself!" I snapped, shooting another Bulbin down. There were so many of them, and I wondered where they all came from. Had they been waiting? I shook my head, as an uncomfortable tingling sensation started spreading through my body, straight from where the arrow was.

"Rose, this isn't the time to be stubborn, -"

"I don't care, I want to help, and we're almost there." I said defiantly, and continued shooting off arrows. As much as she thought I didn't notice, I could see Telma was impressed, despite her worry. By now we were just reaching Kakariko Gorge.

"There's a Kargorok coming up, and it's got a bomb!" Roran called from behind us. We were almost across the bridge, now. I looked up, and sure enough, there it was. I reached for an arrow, but my hand grasped at nothing. I cursed and, acting on a whim, used Nayru's Love. Forcing myself to concentrate despite the screaming pain in my side, I formed a razor-sharp shard in my hand. I hurled it at the winged beast, sending it to the ground in a whirl. We were close now, even though the plains were much larger than depicted in the game. I looked to the gate, surprised to see it already open.

'What..?' Then I remembered that Bethany had melted the lock off, in her brief experience as a dragonl. I heard a loud, animalistic roar from nearby. Turning to the noise, icy fear shot down my spine. Wolves. Again! Wait, only one.

"Damn it!" I hissed. "Link, we've got more trouble!" I called. My warning didn't come fast enough, because the creature leaped at him, and tackled him straight off Epona. "LINK!" I screamed, and I used Farore's Wind to get off the cart. I stumbled on the rough landing, but thankfully didn't fall.

"Rose, get back here!"

I ignored Telma's exclamation as I drew my sword. The creature had Link pinned to the ground, unable to reach his sword. Before I could even reach either of them, another roar sounded, but from the air, followed by a high-pitched whistle. Instinctively, I dropped to the ground, crying out at the pain the action caused. I watched, though, as the wolf creature was thrown off Link by a black...thing. Seemingly out of nowhere, said monster was engulfed in flames. The black figure had disappeared. Fortunately, that seemed to be the last of the enemies. Ignoring the disgusting smells from around us, I staggered over to Link, helping him to his feet.

There were eight holes in his tunic from the beast's claws. Small beads of crimson blood oozed out, saturating the fibers of the tunic, though only little.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Of course he would ask if I was okay.

'No, My body's going numb, and I've been shot with an arrow.' I wanted to say. I didn't though. Instead, I said, "I feel like I'm being lit on fire from the inside out." with a pained grimace as we hurried back to our respective places.

"You need to learn to listen, sometimes." Roran scolded -he actually sounded angry with me- as we began moving again. Link was ahead of us now, probably heading to wake Renado, for the task at hand. I glowered.

"I didn't get hurt any worse than I already was. I was saving my friend. But I guess that wasn't needed. What was that thing?" I changed the subject as I looked at the sky, trying to find a trace of the black thing I'd seen, that saved Link's life. I didn't even know which direction it flew off in.

"I don't know. I just saw it fly up, and then it disappeared. It was too dark to see." Roran answered. I sighed, disappointed, as we passed the gate. Renado was waiting, just past the sanctuary. He looked to Link after he saw me.

"You did not tell me Rose was injured as well." he said reprovingly.

"The zora boy needs to be tended to first." I said crossly.

"Rose, Ralis is fine, you've been shot." Link disagreed. I glowered at him.

"I've been through worse." I retorted.

"That's a lie, and you know it." Link sounded more irritated now. I didn't respond, turning to Renado.

"Ralis first." I insisted. The Shaman sighed, walking to the back of the cart, lifting the boy up into his arms and began carrying him to the inn, Telma and Ilia following close behind. As soon as the door closed, I reached for the arrow. Gritting my teeth, I snapped the shaft in two, involuntarily crying out. The broken shaft fell from shaking fingers. "Don't want to scare the kids... 's easier to cover it up if it's smaller.." I defended myself when I saw Link giving me a look.

I felt a hand on my back, guiding me forward. I heard Link talking, but I was having trouble focusing on what he was saying, just the fiery feeling in my veins and the pounding in my head. In the midst of the haze, a frightening thought came to my mind;

Was I dying?

A/N: I couldn't resist the dramatic ending, so sorry. But I'm on a roll today, this is the third chapter I finished revising and uploaded! If I'm quick, I might be able to get chapter 25 out before I go to sleep. I hope you enjoyed reading! Maybe leave a little review?