Thunder rumbled loudly outside their cave and lightning illuminated their faces for a brief second.
"I know a Red Potion would make your friend heal quickly," Zelda said after a moment, "however, to make it, I need a special flower. Furthermore, it would take over a day for the potion to complete… he doesn't have that long." She said the last part as kindly as she could. Midona gave a dry sob.
"What do you mean, he doesn't have that long?" she asked in a whisper, her ruby eyes brimming with tears once more.
"I'm sorry. The wound caused severe damage and he has lost too much blood" Zelda explained. Midona tightened her hold on Kintaro as fat tears slid down her cheeks. "However… there is another way…" Zelda said a few seconds later. Midona looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Fairy Fountains are rare and secluded, and I don't know if I should even bring it up... But… the fairies that inhabit these magical fountains have healing properties unmatched by anything else in Hyrule" the princess explained. "They give life to anyone on the brink of death"
"Where can I find them?" Midona asked. Zelda shook her head.
"I don't know… from what I heard, they are spread out all across Hyrule… I myself have never seen them" Zelda said sadly.
"Wait a second… I think I have seen them before… back near… Gaeboran" Link said suddenly. He felt guilty again because it was his fault this Kintaro guy was dying. The least he could do was help. "Look, I'll take a look around the lake and see if I can find the flowers for the potion or a fairy" he said.
"Link… please be careful" Zelda said as she got to her feet.
"I will… and you too. I won't be long" he said, and with that, he left the cave.
Zelda turned to Midona and smiled.
"I trust him. He will find one… don't worry" she said to the girl.
"I pray he does" Midona answered, and pressed her forehead to Kintaro's and whispered words that were inaudible to the princess.
Link was drenched as soon as he stepped out of the cave. The rain was falling in torrents now, and the sky was illuminated every few seconds by lightning. He could hardly see through the curtain of rain and darkness but he trudged on… he had no time to waste. The sky roared with thunder and lightning struck the ground. It was too close for comfort, and Link didn't know if it was at all safe to continue his quest in these conditions. Nevertheless, he followed the path blindly and continued, slipping on the muddy earth and falling on his behind.
"Damn it!" he raged, struggling to stand. It was a difficult task given the slippery earth. He strained his eyes and then he saw it: a mystical sort of light casting a faint glow a few ways away. It seemed to guide him…
Link followed the light and gasped as he wandered into the lake itself. The frigid water bit mercilessly into his skin, but he swam forward anyway, following that mysterious light. It seemed to call to him and he swam, unafraid of the storm raging around him. He knew that if a lightning bolt struck the lake, he was toast… but he continued, and, thank the goddesses, he made it to the other side safely. The mysterious light diminished and Link felt his heart sink. For some odd reason, he had felt safe while the light shone. He came up onto a small pier of some sort, adjacent to the opening of an enormous cave. The entrance itself was framed by two gigantic, stone serpents.
"What the hell is this place?" he asked out loud to no one. Whatever, it didn't matter. He went inside and walked slowly. He walked onward and cursed as he almost fell over the edge of what he assumed was a cliff. Swearing loudly, he pulled himself back to level ground. "I need a fucking light" he mumbled to himself as he remained on his hands and knees, afraid to make a move and fall over the cliff. Quite suddenly, the mystical light appeared again, illuminating the entire cave. Link looked around, getting to his feet. The cave was huge and circular. He was up high on a ledge, and he realized now that, had he fallen over, he would have landed in a spring. Looking down, he also noted it was a very, very deep spring… its water so pure and crystalline he could see all the way down to the bottom of it. And right now, it was also shimmering softly, casting off a tranquil, golden glow.
"Where am I?" he asked out loud. He was not expecting an answer and almost fell over in surprise when he heard a deep, rumbling, disembodied voice answer him.
"You are in Lanayru's Spirit Spring" it said, reverberating across the stone walls.
"The Lanayru's… who are you?" Link asked, looking around.
"I am Lanayru, the Spirit" the voice answered.
"Yeah… well, why don't you show yourself, Lanayru the Spirit?" Link snapped. He was getting irritated by this nonsense.
"Are you sure you are ready to see me, young one?" the voice asked.
"Oh, I'm ready" Link said. At that moment, the light became so bright it was too much for Link to handle. He shielded his eyes against the brilliance and only dared open them when he was sure the light had subsided. His mouth fell open. In front of him was a spectacular creature he had never seen before. It appeared to be made of shinning gold and took the shape of gargantuan serpent. In its mouth it held an orb of light. This was the light that had guided him here…
"What do you seek here, young one?" Lanayru asked.
It took a moment for Link to find his voice.
"Great Spirit Lanayru" he began respectfully, "I seek assistance in finding fairies. A friend is gravely injured and if I do not return with a fairy, he will die"
Lanayru remained silent for a moment.
"Are you worthy?" it asked.
"Am I worthy? I… I do not know. May you be the judge" Link said, getting on one knee and bowing his head. Something happened then but Link wasn't sure what. He found himself immersed in golden light. It was as if he was floating in white nothingness, though he knew he wasn't; he could feel the hard earth beneath him. A few seconds later, he felt his Triforce mark burn. Then he was back in the cave and the Great Spirit was looking at him once again.
"Brave youth of Destiny… noble is your heart and courageous is your spirit. Hard times lie ahead for you and your strength will be tested. This is but our first encounter. May these blessings aid you in your quest" Lanayru said, and without another word, the spirit faded into nothingness, leaving in its wake a large cluster of small fairies. Link was mesmerized by their pinkish glow; they reminded him of happier days in Gaeboran. The fairies left sparkles in their wake, wherever they fluttered. Snapping out of his reverie and remembering he had no time to spare, he jumped into the spring. The fairies all clustered around him and he was able to see them properly. Up close, they weren't just tiny orbs of light like he had first thought. No, they were tiny translucent bodies filled with what Link guessed was magic. Whatever was inside these minute fairies resembled a pink lightning, shimmering throughout their little bodies. They had no face, no eyes, no mouth… just this curious transparent body that radiated with what Link decided was life itself. One tiny fairy landed on his nose and to his great surprise, she spoke to him.
"Hi!" she said in a thin voice. The other fairies giggled and swarmed around his head.
"But you are not injured!" another said sweetly as she fluttered around him. The others laughed and giggled as they chattered all about him in high-pitched voices.
"No, I am not injured," Link said, "but my friend is… we need to go now"
This statement was followed by excited squeaks and many of them said "Pick Me! Pick Me!"
In the end, Link pulled out a small bottle, swung his arm, and randomly caught a fairy. There were disappointed "Aww's" as Link swam to the edge and pulled himself out of the spring. He ran out of the cave and into the darkness and rain once more. This time around however, the tiny fairy provided enough light for him to see his path. The thunder and lightning had stopped, and the rain had slowed to a gentle mist. He swam as fast as he could across Lake Hylia and traced his steps back to the cave they were hiding in. It was easy to find, because the girls had started what seemed like a small fire. He would have to warn them that that made them visible to anyone passing by.
"His breathing is going shallow! He's dying, Zelda!" he heard Midona say in a panicked voice. "Oh please, please, goddesses above, please don't do this!"
"I'm here!" Link panted, running into the cave.
"Merciful heavens!" Zelda exclaimed as she ran to him. He handed her the bottle with the fairy inside and she quickly made her way to Midona and her friend. She unstoppered the small bottle and released the tiny fairy over Kintaro's body. The fairy giggled and circled his limp body three times before she evanesced into thin air with a final and cheerful "Goodbye!"
Moments later, Kintaro stirred. "Midona?" he asked in a deep voice, his eyes fluttering open. Midona gasped and began to weep, clinging tightly to her friend. Miraculously before their eyes, Kintaro's wound was healing itself. Zelda turned to Link and smiled.
"Thank the goddesses you found a fairy" she said, wiping her eyes.
"Lucky I did, really" Link said, shivering.
"Come over by the fire" she said. Link shook his head.
"Nay, the fire is visible from a mile away, we need to put it out" he said, removing his drenched boots.
"Link… thank you" Midona said, rising to her feet. Link scratched his head.
"Don't thank me" he said gruffly. But Midona came up to him and bowed in gratitude. "Hey! Stop it… don't do that!" Link said in alarm. He didn't like that one bit; it made him uncomfortable. Besides, he had been the one to hurt Kintaro… it was the least he could do.
"Link…" Kintaro said in a hoarse whisper. Link turned to look at him. "You are the one who saved my life?" Kintaro asked, looking at Link.
"Er… no, not really… the fairy did…" Link answered uncomfortably.
"He found the fairy" Zelda said, grinning at Link. He scowled at her.
"Thank you for saving my life" Kintaro said.
"Uh… yeah, sure… don't mention it" Link said, wringing his hat.
"About the fire… it is too cold to put it out" Zelda said, suppressing a grin. Link scowled at her again… he knew she was enjoying his discomfort.
"We can't stay here anyways" Link said. "If it rains like it did earlier, this cave will be flooded over… we know this." He gave Zelda a meaningful look. This had been the exact same cave they had chosen as their hiding place as children.
"We have nowhere else to go" Zelda said after a moment.
"There is a place near here… it is a fishing pond, I believe" Midona said, kneeling beside Kintaro. "I have been here for a while and I have seen it before. I have explored this lake quite thoroughly"
"Where is it located?" Zelda asked.
"Up the river… We won't be able to get there on foot" Midona answered.
"Well, that sounds like our best option, but how do we get there?" Link asked as he wrung his socks.
"I can take us there, of course" Midona said. "Everyone gather close…"
Zelda hurriedly went to their horses and pulled them along until they were all surrounding Kintaro. Again, Midona released her dark energy, and again, Link felt himself travel through darkness. Within seconds they were back in the open air. Link looked around and felt his heart drop. The once clear water was now brown and murky… it had become stagnant. He realized now that he had not heard any waterfalls since they had appeared in the cave. He looked at Zelda who was looking around at the scene. She turned to look at him.
"What happened here?" she asked.
A/N: Hello my lovely readers! I thank you for patiently waiting for an update! While it has been hectic as always in my life, that is not the only reason why this time it took so long for me to upload new chapters. I was actually revising this story, making changes and editing each chapter individually. While it is not necessary for you guys to go back and reread the entire thing, I just thought I'd mention it in case you were interested. Again, it is not necessary to do so because the things I changed are minor and do not really affect the story so far. I hope you are finding things interesting and I wanted to ask about the chapter length... do you want me to keep with this medium/short chapter formula or do you want me to write longer chapters? Let me now you thoughts, and as always I appreciate your reviews! See you next time! xoxo