Hey all! I just wanted to say thank you all for the fantastic reviews and all of your support! Kyle, thanks sooo much for your review! It means so much to me that you like my story! And to answer your question, and anyone else's who hasn't played Skyward Sword, the Silent Realm is a kind of alternate realm that Link has to go to prove himself worthy and strengthen his spirit. There are four, one in Faron Woods, one in Eldin Volcano, one in Lanayru Desert and a final one in Skyloft. He has to collect Tears of light that help his spirit grow, so he can become a true hero. He can't go inside buildings or use any of his weapons, or go off of Skyloft. He has a 90 second time limit between each Tear, if he doesn't make it in time to the next on, steps in Waking Water, or gets too close to a Watcher, he wakes the Guardians. If one gets to him, he fails and has to start all over. It stinks and is actually pretty scary! Hope that clears things up! Thank you!
Chapter Thirteen
The four of us stand nervously in front of the Trail Gate. I really, really don't want to do this. Link walks to the center of the gate and unsheathes his sword. Me, Sheik and Navi all head over to stand by him.
"Just like this?" He asks as he lifts the sword. We all nod. He thrusts it into the middle.
A bright flash of light explodes around us and I feel like I'm disintegrating, then being pulled back together. Like that candy bar in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Then we're standing in a different Skyloft than before. Everything is tinted blue, and it feels as if there's no air. But I can breathe. Small sparkles, almost like fireflies, float through the air. I look down at myself expecting to see my body as transparent and sparkly, but it only looks a little blue. Oh, right. We're still in our bodies and if the Guardians kill us we're dead, literally. Joy.
It's absolutely silent, save some strange ringing that echos in my ears. Where is that coming from? I look around, searching for the source. Then I see the Watchers.
They're like little ghosts with lanterns. They would look almost comical if they didn't spell out our certain doom. That's where the ringing is coming from. They shake their lanterns as the float. Waking Water now fills the waterfall, I remember it's also somewhere over in the Residential Quarters. A Guardian stands a little in front of us. It's one of the ones that fly and looks like a monkey. Another polar bear looking one stands by the Bazaar. They're ginormous, at least eight feet tall. We wake up one of those and we're dead.
But the strangest part of it all is that the Statue of the Goddess stands where it used to. I guess things don't change much in here.
"That wasn't there a few minutes ago." Sheik says, his voice oddly echoing.
"It's the Statue of the Goddess," I reply, my voice the same way.
Link's about to walk out of the circle but stops when we hear a voice. I recognize it as Farore.
"Heroes," She says in the echo voice. "Be cautioned. When you step out of the circle you will awaken the guardians. To put them back to rest, you must make it to the Statue of the Goddess. There you will be introduced to your quest in this realm. As you can see, your weapons do not follow you here. You must survive with stealth. If ever you wake a Guardian, at least one of you must run back to the Statue. It will deactivate them. No go, and meet the first."
We have to run all the way back to the Statue? This is not going to be fun at all. I'm not a track star when it comes to running. And what does she mean by "go meet the first"?
Sheik walks up to where Link is, and Navi flies under Link's hat. Scaredy Cat.
Link turns around to face me. He takes my hand. "Ready?"
I'm shaking, but I give him the best smile I can manage and nod my head.
We step out of the circle.
Everything changes from being tinted blue to orange, even the sky. The Watchers disappear and the Guardians lift their heads, revealing their glowing eyes. A pounding fills the air that matches my racing heart.
"Run!" I yell.
Link takes a firmer hold of my hand and we start running to the Statue. We dash through a Bazaar, narrowly missing a Guardian who tries to bring down his giant club. We race up the stairs, dodging the flying ones who start to surround us. But then I trip, and get my foot caught in the old wooden boards of the stairs. I try to yank it out but I'm a little distracted by the flying monkeys with swords of death swarming over my head. Link stops and tries to help me up, but with all the Guardians floating around us it's hard for him to concentrate. Then one of the polar bears steps up behind him, raising it's club to pound us both.
"Link!" I scream.
Link sees the Guardian and tries to shield me from the blow that never comes. I hold on to him tightly for a minute, but then realize that the deafening pounding has stopped. I open my eyes and see that Skyloft has turned blue again, and that the Guardians have gone back to their original positions. Sheik. I forgot that Sheik was in front of us. He must have reached the entrance to the Statue. I close my eyes again groan.
Link lets me go and smiles in relief. "Well, that was fun."
I laugh shakily.
Sheik runs down to us. "If that was only our first meet up with them, I'll be surprised if we make it out of here alive."
"Me too," Link says as he helps me get my leg out of the boards. Of course it was the same one that I sprained. That's going to smart later when the adrenaline wears off. "Thanks by the way."
"No problem, Hero."
Navi peeks her head out from under Link's hat. "Just in case you guys were wondering, I'm staying in here! I am not coming out until this is over!" And she disappears.
"I'm so honored to have such a brave fairy as my partner." Link grumbles.
We walk up to the Statue of the Goddess. I hear music now, sounds as if it's coming from a harp.
"I can't believe that the original me did that in a time limit," Link says when we reach the entrance.
"I can't either, when I look back on it. It was pretty tough." Another voice similar to Link's answers from the base of the Statue.
We all look up in shock. A man stands with his back to us, playing a harp. He has on tall boots, slightly baggy tan pants and a green tunic. He also wears a long green hat. Wait, Link?
I look to my side. No, Link is still standing next to me, staring surprised at the man. I look back to the man. But that's Link too. What the heck?
The man turns around, and that's when it really gets weird. He looks almost exactly like Link, maybe a few years older though, hair a bit darker. Is he?...
He holds his hand out to Link. "Hello, Link. I'm... you."
Link takes his hand in surprise. "You're... the Link who wrote the letter?"
Other Link smiles. "You found it? Good, I worried that maybe you wouldn't even go into the Knight Academy. And then after the goddesses made me one of the three chosen heroes, I thought that maybe I should just get rid of it because I'd get to talk to you in person."
"Yeah, we did. Thank you." Poor Link. He looks so confused right now.
"Wait, I thought you were dead." Sheik says, just as confused. "How are you here?"
He smiles again. "Being married to a goddess has its many perks. Along with the fact that I'm the first Link, so I think I have the right to be one of the three Chosen Heroes. Don't you think?" He turns to me. "So you must be Nicole, am I correct?"
I nod. "Yeah. If you don't mind me asking, how did you and Zelda know about me, but the goddesses didn't?"
He rolls his eyes. "Zelda tried to tell the goddesses that she knew you would come, but all they said was 'Impossible! You must be wrong, Hylia.' But now I don't think they'll ever doubt her again."
"So, Farore mentioned you had a little quest for us." Sheik says.
"Yes, I do." Other Link's face becomes more serious. "As you already know, now that you've collected all of the Sacred Weapons, you now have to prove yourself worthy of the three chosen heroes weapons. Only with all of these can you receive the Ultimate Weapon to defeat Ganondorf."
"Holy cucoos, how many weapons are there?" Navi asks from under Link's hat.
Other Link laughs. "Too many."
"I have to prove myself?" Link says in a tired voice. "Don't you think I've already done that more than once? And in tons of different lives. I'm you for Hyrule's sake, you know what I'm capable of!"
"It's not my decision that you must prove yourself." He replies. "If I'd had my way I'd have just handed it to you. But the goddesses feel the need to make you prove yourself."
I snort "Tell me about it. Just when you think you've completed every temple you possible could they give you a whole new problem."
"Exactly," Other Link agrees. "But I can't complain too much, I'm married to one after all."
"So, you two do get married?" Sheik asks awkwardly.
Other Link smiles sympathetically at him. "Yes, we're quite happy together. And I'm sure you and your Zelda will be the same way."
Sheik smiles hesitantly back.
"So, what trail do we have to go through to get your weapon?" Link asks nervously. I'm a little nervous too.
"Fly to the Lumpy Pumpkin and retrieve the Heart Container from the top of the chandelier. You'll be granted a Loftwing to get there and back. Then fly to into the Thunderhead and go to the Isle of Songs, bring me back what lies in the chest there. Then go to the top of the Light Tower and get the Tear Vessel. In that order. When you get those items, I'll give you my weapon. But you'll have to be careful. There are still Guardians, Watchers and Waking Water everywhere. If you wake a Guardian you'll still need to come back here to the Statue to deactivate them." He looks at us sympathetically. It must be strange for him to be giving us the orders that he once received. Talk about irony.
"Go now, prove yourself worthy. I'll be waiting inside the Statue. When you finish, just go inside. Be careful." Other Link smiles sadly at us and walks inside the Statue