Wow, that one was fun to write… but also difficult!
Always happy to read your feedback, you guys definitely keep me going!
Also: no more surgical ward! Yay!
Enjoy!
Chapter 46
Link
He had always had a particular fondness for forests… the occasional, suspenseful gloom, the play of light and dark as sunrays found their way through the canopy… the incredibly invigorating, earthy smell…
This bloody aggregation of spitefully interwoven trees, however, were seriously testing this appreciation. It was like these recalcitrant growths were purposefully blocking their path, forming row upon row of thick wooden walls that made progress incredibly tedious. If he didn't know better, he would like nothing better than to draw his sword and cut his way through, but… sadly, this would not only dull his blade, but probably serve to slow them down even further.
Stupid, pesky trees! Now all he could do was to mutter angrily as he imagined himself with a brightly burning axe, running through the forest, swinging and hacking at all these ligneous tumours that would mock him while cackling like a maniac… And to crown it all, Zelda apparently found his grumpy ramblings terrifically funny, judging by her poorly disguised giggles! Bah!
Still, he was glad she could find some merriment in all this… there was preciously little to have, trapped in the stiflingly thick, musty wistfulness under the light-devouring canopy.
"I wonder how the trees in this forest survive." she panted under her heavy backpack. "I mean, trees of this size would normally never prosper, squeezed this tightly together… It's almost as if their growth occurred according to some design!"
Bless her for routinely striking up conversations to try and pull him out of his foul mood… even though her choice of topic left something to be desired… "I actually wouldn't be surprised if it was…" he replied, speaking louder than normal as the incredible tightness of the air seemed to swallow up sound along with joy. "Veneli spoke of the tree… oh, pardon me, 'The Guardian' almost as if it were alive and sentient. And who knows? A tree of that size… there must be some mystery to it other than good fertilizer courtesy of Rito bowels."
"Tasteful, my good sir knight." she grumbled. "But, yes, I definitely hope so… Come to think of it, I seem to recall that, in ancient mythology of Hyrule, people revered the World-Tree or somesuch… a guardian spirit sent by the goddesses to watch over life on their behalf… Wouldn't it be magnificent, should we be about to meet such an eon-old being?"
"Without a doubt… doesn't bode well that this World-Tree looks completely dead, though, does it?…" he grunted as he squeezed through impossibly knotted branches, scraping his knees for the millionth time.
Zelda fell silent and Link could have smacked himself. Why, by Din's roaring hellfire, did he have to be so bloody fatalistic? He felt like an utter shit, dampening the mood even further, just because these woods were getting on his nerves.
"On the other hand…" he attempted a save. "This damned forest seems well and truly alive… and as you said, it shouldn't be able to prosper, as dense as it is. So not all magic can be lost… And we've only seen the thing from afar till now… Could just be dormant, like your own sorcery…" He waited for her reaction, his face scrunched up, hoping he had salvaged the situation at least a little bit.
"…true." she finally said after a felt eternity. "And since we are probably to enter the tree, we will know soon enough."
"The 'Guardian'! Have a little respect, please!" Her voice had sounded placated enough that he permitted himself a little joke.
"Ah. My apologies. I wouldn't want to fall behind you, the grandmaster of being appropriately reverential. The Guardian, then… with a capital 'G'. And a masterfully illustrated initial." she pronounced genially.
Link breathed an inward sigh of relief… Crisis averted! "Much better. I see you are improving your undeferential outlook." He praised with a particularly precocious tone while shooting her a wily grin over his shoulder.
"I highly doubt 'undeferential' is a word you would find in any self-respecting dictionary, oh so superior one…" she growled with a hint of menace… which, naturally, he had to stoke.
"I shouldn't think so… I had to invent it just for you, my dear!" he purred as he turned around fully to award her his most disgustingly patronizing smile. She stopped in her tracks and he could see her fuming, which was quite delectable… He knew he had won this round!
"If I didn't have this massive backpack weighing me down, I hope you realize, I would already be over there, showing you just how contemptuous I can be…" his sweet princess cooed in a way that did not bode well for his continued existence.
"Tempting… should I come closer, then?" he asked, filled with innocence.
The tiny, lopsided smile that played around the corners of her magnificent lips betrayed her consideration of his proposal. "Not to worry, good sir knight…" she purred, sounding as harmless as a leopard about to pounce. "I will find you… when you least expect it…"
A thrilling shudder ran up and down his back, both excited and a tad worried. He loved the danger in her voice… Despite feeling like he was entering the den of a hungry tigress, he quickly closed the distance, pulled her close and snatched a quick but intense kiss from her lips before she could react properly.
For a second she seemed baffled and, possibly, even a bit angry… but then he could see that a wide grin tried to establish itself on her breathtaking face, even through her efforts to turn it slightly pouty. "If you believe that this is going to save you…" she began and left it hanging in the air.
"Alas, I know I am lost…" he answered, looking deeply into her sky-blue eyes, marvelling at the light sparkling within them. "But wait!" he exclaimed as if he'd just had a brilliant idea. "If I am as good as dust beneath your feet, what have I to lose?" and with just a moment's pause for dramatic effect he leaned in once more.
She tried to say something, but her mouth was quickly occupied with his and her resistance was very short lived.
It felt like a wonderfully long time before they separated again, both basking in the energy and spirit that could only be provided by each other. He could sense her trembling in his arms, almost heard her heartbeat, so close to his own. It was one of those spontaneous, non-enforceable moments of pure, sensual unity.
When finally their lips parted, after a few unsuccessful attempts, they both remained, blissfully trapped in the other's arms, enjoying the last remnants of the kiss' taste, shivering as power and determination was drawn from the loved one, doubling them as if by magic… and, of course, waiting for normal brain activity to restart.
"By all three goddesses…" Zelda started, her voice sounding husky and so intense it made his skin tingle. "…we better find this dragon quickly… because when we're done, we are taking a few days off… and you better be ready for it!"
Link swallowed heavily and said nothing… how could he when his mind was suddenly as blank as a fresh, crackling sheet of paper. Still… it's fascinating how much lighter and agreeable the forest felt after that…
One more day was spent crawling, squeezing and twisting through the impossibly dense vegetation that, more and more, seemed like concentric walls of interlaced branches, repeating endlessly… a natural, living defence, sure to break any ground assault and reduce it to a crawl. Link was certainly beginning to see why the Rito were feeling safe here… Only beings with the gift of flight could pass this stretch of land with any semblance of comfort. Although… hadn't Veneli mentioned that a Goron had, at some point, passed the Bridge of Winds? How in the world did he progress through this infernal woody effrontery? He would have to speak a few terse words with the young bird when all was over…
Still, all grumbling aside, they were now almost there… The last time he had climbed one of the trees to make sure they haven't gone astray was about two hours ago and even then the towering 'Guardian' had seemed very close. He had been able to spot that, around it, the forest kept a clear perimeter, almost as if out of respect… or fear? He'd also detected a few majestically gliding pairs of large wings, still far enough off that he had no worries of being seen. He saw them flying towards a point somewhere high up on the massive trunk but against the white, cloudy sky he couldn't make out any details on the dark wood.
"I am going to climb up one more time… just to be safe." he announced, shedding the clattering backpack.
"Hm." Zelda confirmed, still wedging herself through the tight web of root and branch.
Strictly speaking, there was no need to check for directions any more… they could already see the Guardian's shadowy silhouette often enough through the canopy. He simply wanted check on the Rito people's activity around it, so he could plan their approach and make sure they wouldn't be caught.
The view that opened up before him as he broke through the near unbroken canopy was breathtaking. Up until now he hadn't really had the mindset for the unique aesthetic of it, being too busy with simply getting them there… But for some reason, now it hit him instantly, causing his hair to stand on end with pure fascination.
"Ditch the backpack and come up to me! I want you to see this, dumpling!" he called down. He heard some mumble-grumble from the ground, but her pack landed noisily next to his. Since the vegetation here was so crookedly grown with a branch at every possible spot, the trees were easy to ascend for even an inexperienced climber. That said, he was still surprised at how quickly his deft little dumpling joined him in the crown.
Her deep, delighted intake of air conjured a wide smile on his face. "Amazing!" she breathed, to which he had nothing to add. Indeed he wouldn't have said anything regardless… the matchless natural wonder that presented itself to them could only be adequately appreciated with silence.
A green sea extended to all sides, a collage of all colours of life, from soft lime to intense emerald, waving but gently and so dense as if it could carry their weight, were they to step on it… It seemed at the same time stable and perfect, as well as in constant, wavy motion as the cool breeze of autumn caressed the still juicy leaves. Far, far in the distance, only just peeking through the mist, craggy, sharp mountains rose as a stark contrast to the vast, flat expanse of forest, forming a splendidly formidable panorama, giving the impression of craggy rocks, standing immovably as waves upon waves of a verdant ocean break against it.
The real antithesis to the deceptively homogenous, verdurous expanse, however, was right before them. A singular tree of sheer incomprehensible dimensions, towering above all, a seemingly dead pillar erupting through a sea of life, both awe-inspiring and dizzying to behold.
Zelda's hand found his own, squeezing it hesitantly. Just by her touch he felt both her mystified anticipation, her giddy lust for exploration and her hair-raising tension at the sight of this apparently deceased monument of nature, so at odds with its surroundings. He squeezed back to show he knew exactly how she felt.
"How old must this thing be?" he asked the world in general, his voice hushed by veneration.
"Thousands of years? Tens of thousands?" she answered, equally reverential.
The marvelled in silence for another minute, both feeling unable to avert their gaze from this quite, yet spectacular sight.
"Look! Do you see those things high up, on and around those branches?" Link suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards a spot about two thirds up the enormous trunk. Zelda laid her head on his shoulder so she could follow precisely where he was indicating at… even though he had no doubt she would have detected it even without that cute little manoeuvre.
"Rito huts!" she noted excitedly. He could see her radiant, heart-warming smile as she set eyes upon something no other Hylian had, presumably, ever seen. The mighty tree-branches, each as wide as a road, supported dozens of small, spherical homes, each in a different, vibrant colour, reflecting the magnificent plumage of its inhabitants. Some where propped up above the Guardian's limbs, some seemed precariously supported off its side, others still appeared to be hanging under it, tiny stairways and walkways criss-crossing to and fro. A village so strange, magical and wonderful as it could possibly be. Link was itching to be there, to balance on the narrow wooden gangways, to feel the wind so high up and see it all from up close… He could only imagine how strong, how imperative this urge must be for his beloved princess, always caged behind stark stone walls, to be among the People of the Many Winds, above everybody else, free and unchained like no other being could claim to be.
"The view from up there must be gorgeous…" she whispered, both fascination and almost pained yearning in her sweet voice. Link wanted nothing more than to promise her that they would visit, somehow, that they would sit among the Rito, share their vista, their stories, their priceless liberty… But he knew such a promise would ring empty, a fool's hope.
He wordlessly put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer as they sat among the leaves, almost like two normal youths, simply enjoying the view.
Link looked a bit higher, where once the unimaginably large canopy would have been. Hundreds of branches, some thick as a castle tower, others only a shimmer against the light-grey sky… and not a single leaf… The crown that must have once provided shade for half this plane was barren and lifeless… A sudden sadness overcame him, realizing that such a tremendous being, such a peerless marvel had to perish. But then again… the way Veneli had spoken of it hadn't been mournful or plaintive… He had venerated it, but rather like you would a living person, not someone who had passed away.
Though as he looked closer, he suddenly saw something else…
"Down!" he hissed, his heart instantly racing. He pushed Zelda's head down so the leaves would hide her sparkling hair better, then half climbed, half slid his way back to the ground, always ready to catch her, should she fall. Thankfully he could always count on her presence of mind and, despite her startled, pale face, she reacted at once, proving her dexterity once again as she followed suit.
"Have they seen us?!" she whispered urgently, eyes wide and scared.
"Not sure. Saw them coming straight at us." he answered curtly, lifting her backpack first so she could slip it on without delay. "That way! As quickly and silently as possible!" he commanded, already squeezing through the next row of trees.
Zelda had just emerged from the same gap when, to his horror, he heard a low whooshing sound just above. He grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her with him, time too short to be gentle. He weaved through the largest gaps he could find, regardless of the direction, his only aim to gain as much distance as he could. Still, they were too loud! Their heavy packs clattered and scraped against bark, but what alternative was there? They held all their food… and if they had abandoned them and they were found, the natives would know of their presence, which would make approaching the tree next to impossible.
After thirty seconds of hasty, panicked retreat, Zelda only barely keeping up without stumbling over root and rock, Link spotted an oddly stunted tree, standing above a small hollow in the ground. "There!" he snarled, changing direction so quickly he had to yank on her shoulder to make her change course in time. She gave a muffled pained yelp, causing a wave of guilt to course through his soul, but he had to brush it aside for now.
They reached the little pit, half covered by the gnarled wood and slithered in. Their hearts raced violently, their heavy breathing and the rush of blood in their ears seeming hair-raisingly loud and betraying. His poor girl put her hand in front of her mouth in hopes of dampening the sound of her deep gasps for air.
"Shouldn't have bloody stayed up there that long!" He hissed through gritted teeth. "Fucking, fucking idiot!" He balled his fists in red-hot anger at himself for being so careless. If he could have, he would kick himself to the ground… though now he was forced to seethe quietly, despite feeling he could burst out of sheer rage… and terrified sense of guilt for having inadvertently endangered who mattered most.
Zelda, ever his saving grace, took his hand and held it firmly as if to assure him that she didn't seek to blame. The little angel shot him a consoling, shaky smile, brittle due to the heart-pounding anxiety of being chased. He only managed a perfunctory, lopsided excuse of a grin as a reply… Inwardly he shook his head. She, having to provide solace for him in such a situation… Some bloody disgrace of a protector I am!
They waited in complete silence, squatting in the gloom below the tree, every movement, every breath, every miniscule rustle of clothes seeming like an unmistakable din, sure to give away their location at once. The seconds crawled past as wild, panicked fleeing gave way to frightened, tense waiting for the unknown. Had it all been an accident? Were they lingering here for no reason whatsoever? Down in this hollow he could only see the canopy through the hole they entered, and all sounds seemed muffled by the moist earth and wood around them. How dearly he wished his eyes could pierce branch and leaf…
Beside him, shifting a tiny bit to relieve her by now aching knees, she leaned closer. "Are they gone?" just the barest whisper, spoken so closely he could feel her hot breath against his ear. He didn't know how to answer. They were uncomfortable, crammed in this airless hole, cowering with their heavy backpacks still on… yet if it were up to him, he'd stay here for at least another hour.
Just as he was about to answer he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a shadow zoom past up above, darkening the few patches of light that pierced the thick tree crowns for a split second.
"Wha-" Zelda began, but he rapidly put his fingers against her lips… not a moment too soon!
Not a moment later the both heard the rustling of leaves and creaking of branches, as if something heavy had suddenly landed in the treetops. A cold shiver spread through him from head to toes and through his fingertips he could feel his beloved's frightened and shivering intake of air.
Voices came muffled from above, and he had to consciously try to slow his heartbeat, or he wouldn't understand.
"Are you sure you saw something?" a strong baritone asked gruffly, the tone of a soldier.
"No. But I am sure I heard someone fleeing in the thicket." a higher, melodious voice answered, undoubtedly emerging from a Rito. A third one spoke, but too far off to catch a single word.
"Very well…" the soldierly one snarled. "Then you three get on the ground and get searching while Laissa and I check from above."
"Of course… we have to go rummage in the dirt…" a disgruntled twitter could be heard from directly above them. Zelda twitched and pressed his hand even more firmly.
"Don't you start with me, pipsqueak. Down there, now!" yelled the unmistakable voice of 'military sergeant'.
Link's mind raced as the sound of three grumbling Rito breaking through the canopy reached his ear. Five of them… at least… And they were right above! Had they made so much noise that they had been so easy to locate?
Doesn't bloody matter! How to get away?! If they ran now, they'd be certainly heard! And if they stayed… they were only really hidden from the bird's eye view… anybody walking past the opening could easily spot them cowering there.
Three pairs of rustled wings and three heavy landings… terrifyingly close. He felt cold sweat running down his back. Being caught seemed inevitable… but what then? Would he fight? These people only sought to protect their home! And they were indeed intruding… Hurting them seemed so far removed from anything resembling justice, the thought alone made his stomach roil. Then again… their mission had to take priority… right? And above all, his vocation to protect the magnificent being at his side stood paramount over everything else. What to do? His heartbeat rose to unimaginable heights as his inner conflict seemed to drown out any coherent thought.
A sharp rap coming from behind nearly scared him out of his wits and Zelda gave a tiny, startled squeak which she instantly smothered with both of her hands clasped in front of her mouth. The raging fear in her eyes as she looked to him, hoping for a way out, turned his insides to ice…
Fuck… fuck fuck FUCK!
"Hmm-hmm…" a muffled voice sing-songed from behind, separated from them only by the mouldy trunk and gnarled roots. "Remember when we used to hide in this tree? I wonder if it has found a new inhabitant…"
Link's thoughts turned cold. The game was over.
He gave Zelda one last gentle squeeze on her shoulder, reassuring her despite not feeling any certitude himself. Then he removed his sword from his belt, vowing not to draw it from its sheath. His muscles tensed, his breathing slowed… He could hear the light, scraping steps of claws on soft earth pass around the tree on both sides… They'd look into their hollow within three seconds… and he would fly out to greet them, should they choose to attack.
Three steps away… he thought he could hear their nervous heartbeat, smell their tension…
Two steps… Every fibre of his body was taut, ready to unleash hell while every crease of his mind lamented his insufficient intelligence for finding a peaceful way out of the predicament he had gotten them into.
One step…
Suddenly, from one moment to the next, the entrance through the gnarled bark closed with a bone-rattling creak, like an enormous mouth swallowing them whole and everything turned dark. With a startled gasp, Link dashed forward, trying to rediscover the exit with nothing but his hands, thinking at first they might have suffered a cave in… He felt Zelda's hand groping at his back in blind panic, then grasping at his clothes in fear of losing him, despite the fact they had barely any space to manoeuvre.
"What- what happened?! The tree just closed!" she squeaked, sounding damn near as hysterical and frightened as he felt.
He half turned around, carefully reached out with his right hand until he found her face and cupped her cheek. "Shhh… calm… I'm here!" he cooed, hoping to all Three that his voice sounded much more reassuring than he could actually feel himself. His left hand kept fumbling around at the wall where, seconds ago, there had been nothing but air leading to the light, open outside, which suddenly seemed a thousand times more appealing, Rito warriors or no.
The darkness was oppressive… but not so much as…
"Listen!" he urged. It took a moment for his command to pierce through the near-panic in her soul, but then she held her racing breath for a few seconds.
…nothing…
No surprised voices from outside, no sharp rapping against the bark, not even the infinitesimal sounds of the wood and earth all around them. Sheer silence…
"What is happening?!" she asked, trembling under his soft touch. He knew how much effort it must cost her to stay relatively collected, mostly because of how much it did him.
"I cannot say." He admitted through gritted teeth. The wall appeared to be the same rough, mouldy wood they had been surrounded before… Had the tree collapsed? If it had, there had been no cracking of wood, no knee-shaking crash, just this jarring creak of a tree bending… and if he remembered correctly, the entrance had slid shut from the bottom to the top! What bloody sense does that make?!
"It's okay… it's still just wood. I'll be able to hack our way out of here, you'll see! Can I have my hand back, dumpling?" he questioned, still trying to appear much more calm than he was, while gently wriggling the hand on her cheek which she had instinctively grabbed on to. He heard her take a deep breath and could almost sense her brave attempts at restoring sanity in her mind. His thumb softly caressed her face, hoping to instil as much tranquillity as he could, keeping none for himself.
Tentatively, her shivering hands let go of his arm, her breathing noticeably slower and her voice decidedly more stable. "Go ahead… tell me if I can help!"
With a smile she couldn't even see he hesitantly removed his right, massively proud of his lionhearted princess.
Without wasting another second he unsheathed his knife and gave the imprisoning wood a few knocks, trying to find the thinnest or most decayed spot. When, after a few moments, he found a decently hollow sounding point, he grabbed the handle with both hands. "Stay back. I-" he didn't get any further…
With an odd sounding, wooden creak the tree suddenly reopened, just as inexplicably as it had closed. Zelda gave a loud, relieved sigh while Link silently thanked the goddesses… but the mystery didn't end there…
"What…?" was the only thing his brain managed when it finally realized what his eyes were trying to tell it.
They warily stepped out of the tree before it decided to devour them once more… but what greeted them disturbed them even more, if such a thing was even possible. The clear, light day that had even managed to illuminate the thick forest was gone… and instead they stood amidst a dense, impenetrable fog, swirling arcanely all around in mesmerizing, intricate vortexes… without so much as the lightest breeze…
Tiny, strange lights glinted wherever they looked, like bluish fireflies, dancing utterly weightlessly in the mist's whirls, then randomly flickering out before another spontaneously came into existence.
Link clumsily reached for Zelda's hand and held it firmly as they both looked, spellbound and open-mouthed, every which way. He would have loved to say that he only held her so they wouldn't get separated, but that wouldn't be entirely true… In truth, as much as what he saw fascinated him, it also terrified him to his very core… In truth, he held onto her just as much as she onto him, his very soul pierced by a sudden, barbed fear of being lost, to disappear into this place and vanish from existence itself… almost as if it had happened before…
Oddly slowly their senses adjusted to their new surroundings, though an air of an ancient inscrutability remained…
Their eyes could only penetrate the peculiar, bluish fog far enough so the next row of trees appeared as a dark and threatening, many-limbed monstrosity, which always seemed to stir in the corner of one's eye, yet sat still when you turned your head…
The air, already dense and heavy before, now seemed almost choking, filled with wet, musty and still, as if you were breathing nothing but earth and moss.
At first this place had seemed silent, but the more they listened, the more they found they were surrounded with strange sounds… the deep creaking of mighty trunks in the still air, the rustle of invisible creatures in leaves and brush… the sound of pieces of wood, clattering together, almost like an outlandish wind-chime… and a whimsical, much higher creak that sounded so very much like an impish laugh… all seeming to come from every direction, both close and from far away, echoing impossibly sometimes from above, other times from below, yet others seemingly from right in between the two of them.
Link looked behind him and felt goosebumps creep up his arms. The tree they had just emerged from, in the weird, hazy blur of this place, looked disturbingly like a vicious face, whose gaping, jagged maw they had just escaped… and whose eye-sockets were watching them menacingly. Suppressing a shiver, he turned back.
"Where do we go…" he mumbled, realizing too late he had thought aloud.
"I don't know…" she muttered back, both close to whispering in a subconscious fear of disturbing the currently peaceful situation. "…but…" she added, then fell silent again.
He watched her from the side, first staring into the distance, then slowly closing her magnificent eyes. He saw her elegant brow furrow, then smoothen again… then a deep breath… "Do you… do you feel it?" she asked with a strangely serene voice.
Link knew he lacked the magical powers his love possessed, as did she… so he was surprised to hear such a question. "Do I feel… what?" he replied silently.
"I don't quite know how to… A presence… ancient and immense… in the ground below, in every tree around, even in the air… This place feels as old as time… a thousand discerning eyes… and none… A remnant of once great power, barely maintained… A labyrinth of souls gone astray, a place to either find oneself… or lose oneself and become one with the woods… but…"
She hesitated and he could see goosebumps form and disappear again on her ivory skin in slow, rhythmic pulses. Her hand was hot in his and… through it he thought he could catch hazy glimpses of what she was experiencing… incomplete figments of what she was trying to convey to him, which, despite their alien and unsettling nature, aided his understanding in a realm where the power of language had failed long ago. He felt her teetering between her own conscience and something else… bridging two different worlds. Despite his deep fear of this place, which he still couldn't quite explain, he, too, closed his eyes and, hesitantly, tried to calm his mind so the impressions she was trying to convey were reflected as if off still water, instead off a stormy sea. Whatever caused his strange terror, his trust towards Zelda ran deeper still.
A flood of sensations washed over him. It took all his self-mastery not to pull back his hand. Images, feelings, smells… thoughts barely comprehensible… memories hardly understandable… A myriad of mental pictures of a million lives over a thousand lifetimes… and with it all… an odd sense of familiarity…
"Can you feel it?" she repeated her question and he didn't have to see her to know she was smiling softly.
To his surprise, he too felt a tiny grin play on his lips. The terror wasn't really gone, but it had been overshadowed by an even stranger sense of belonging… It was as if a memory, once incomplete, had now been made whole with her help.
"Balance… life and death… a presence looming above all… no hostility… Wariness… Watchfulness… But no hostility…"
"Hmm…" he heard her agree. They remained for a few more seconds, suspended in between consciousness and this dream that had to be real. Then, slowly, Zelda pulled herself back, not without effort he noticed. He moved himself to face her and, still without needing to look, let his free hand cup her cheek. Without knowing even remotely what he was doing, he tried to ground her, to be her anchor, to provide a safe corridor back into her body.
He couldn't say whether it was at all his doing, but not a second later she reopened her stunning, sky-blue eyes, those beautiful windows into her wondrous soul he had so ferociously fallen in love with… and her warm, radiant smile banished the last remnants of fear.
"I'm not going to ask how you did that… but you can take me on such journeys whenever you like…" he mumbled sincerely, barely holding back to kiss her fiercely right then and there, where they were still far from safe.
"Only if you promise to keep bringing me back…" Her smile, if anything turned even brighter and he thought he saw a wisp of relief smoothen her brow… apparently she still feared he might be unsettled by her supernatural abilities… adorable little fool!
When they were finally able to keep their eyes from each other, they gazed around once more. The woods had changed… not in any way they could see or feel, but certainly in their minds… Scary still, without a doubt… but also filled with life and eerily beautiful.
A high, squeaking giggle cut through the quiet, much clearer than the almost imperceptible ones before. The two separated, startled, but still kept their hands tightly together. Focussing his senses, Link now definitely felt someone watching them, much more defined than the vague sensation from before. Almost as if a speck of Zelda's power still remained within, he perceived the area with unprecedented clarity… and whirled around towards the evil-looking tree whose dinner they had almost been.
…There! Still almost hidden in the unearthly gloom and uncanny haze, his sharp senses now finally saw a peculiar figure, hiding within the sinister, stunted trunk's left eye.
"Ya-haha!" it laughed and danced a quick, merry jig immediately at being discovered.
Now he felt Zelda focussing on it as well, gasping quietly, more in surprise than fright. And a strange sight it was indeed! A vaguely child-like figure, at least in height… its skin clearly resembled wood, yet bending and moving as if it were flesh. As its face it had a heart shaped leaf, with an impish expression cut out of it.
Not a second after he had finally gotten a decent look at it, it hopped nimbly to the top of the menacing tree's head and then, with a last, weirdly echoing giggle, it jumped down behind it and out of sight.
They watched the spot it had just vanished from for another moment, dumbfounded by this surrounding mystery that always seemed to have yet another thing in store.
"What do you think it wanted?" she asked warily.
"Erm… my dealings with strange, sniggering wood-children have been very limited, so far…" he replied in an attempt to bring a whiff of humour into the situation. Despite the crippling fear having been blasted away by Zelda's resplendent smile, the sharp tension of a wholly unfamiliar situation still remained.
"Was it simply watching us?" she obviously just thought aloud, yet he couldn't resist answering.
"That we can agree on… but to what end? It almost seemed exalted when we spotted it…"
"Maybe we're just…"
Quick as stray cat, the peculiar creature poked its head out from behind the tree again, almost as if playing peek-a-boo, once again startling them both into silence.
It let loose an oddly warbled cry that, to Link, a seasoned big brother, sounded remarkably like a child's impatient whining. To substantiate his suspicion, the being's tiny arm reached around the trunk and made an obviously beckoning gesture.
Zelda released a single, incredulous chuckle which summarized his sentiment about the situation rather well. "I can think of a million reasons why blindly following could be a bad idea…" he muttered resignedly, scratching the back of his head.
She hummed her approval, but added: "On the other hand, it's the only direction we have…"
With one last shrugging look at each other, they uneasily followed the increasingly impatient woodling's call.
They had barely made their first step when it jumped fully into view, burbling excitedly and waving its arms wildly. But before they could get closer than 5 metres it nimbly hopped away, pirouetting with surprising jumping-power and speed behind the closest tree, where it was immediately swallowed by the thick fog.
The two stared dumbfoundedly at the spot, mist and cryptic lights still swirling from the creature's flight… then, their brains finally realizing the game they had unwittingly agreed to, they sprinted forward, giving chase before the only potential guide through the hazy labyrinth had away.
Link couldn't say how long their wild hunt lasted… or whether time had even the slightest significance in this place… The two of them, always close together, tore through the misty gloom, never seeing more than 5 metres ahead, the forest child always just a spectre ahead. Sometimes it seemed almost close enough to reach, others he was completely vanished for a few panicked seconds before giggling and waving at them from a completely different direction than the one they had been going. Link's sharper senses followed the mysterious being more easily, but even he would probably been lost within moments, had it not been for Zelda's second pair of eyes and ears. The kid, if that's indeed what it was, ran, jumped and played effortlessly around trees, over roots and through branches, sniggering constantly at their relative clumsiness. Sometimes it would wait for them, camouflaged against a tree, laughing until they discovered it… sometimes it would hang upside down from a high branch, making them wonder how it had reached that far up so quickly… once it threw a tiny pebble at the back of Link's head, then nearly toppled over in a giggling fit while the two of them still tried to figure out how in the world it managed to appear on the path they had just come from.
One thing he regretted in retrospect was that, during their hasty stumbling after their merry little guide, they had no time to see more of the wonders of this place… Very briefly they passed by a pond, its water serene and reflecting the fey lights a thousand times over, giving it the impression of infinite depth… they were forced to run past without a second glance. Some time later they passed through what appeared to be a stone circle, huge menhirs set atop one another with faded carvings still visible… he saw his adorable scholar's eyes light up in wonder, then her piteous regret at having to leave it behind, probably never to return…
On the other hand, about some of the things he saw looming just past the ever encroaching walls of fog- waving tendrils in constant, creeping motion, an enormous creature sitting on its haunches, then jogging with them for a few metres, a hundred glowing eyes, constantly shifting -he was quite glad they simply dashed past without a closer look.
In the end, already quite out of breath, their chase led them to a very peculiar and dark section of this eldritch forest, with huge trees, their trunks as wide as Link's outstretched arms, all growing slantedly in one direction. They had little time to think about it, as their little friend seemed to, if anything, speed up, still dancing, weaving and twisting through as if he weighed nothing at all…
Finally, appearing out of obscure mist like an enormous maw, they reached an entrance, several times their height and perfectly even, shaped like a gothic arch. Their elusive guide stood right under it, facing them… and for the first time since they had met, it stood almost completely still, waiting for them.
Tentatively approaching, Link noticed that, the closer they got to the arch, the more the hazy gloom around them was dispelled and the lighter it became. When they stood within arm's reach of the woodling, the fog around them seemed almost white, instead of the bluish, sometimes almost deep purple hue.
"You're faaast!" the little creature suddenly stated, causing them both to jump. Unsurprisingly, it had a child's voice, but oddly, not unpleasantly distorted and echoing. It calmly waddled closer and patted Link's knees… All of a sudden, it seemed to have lost all its shyness… or maybe that had all been an act…
"But not as fast as once!" it giggled, kicked him playfully in the shin and jumped backwards into a handstand, feet wriggling wildly.
Link, still recovering, not from the kick but from the sheer levels of 'absurd', just stood, open mouthed. "What do you mean, 'once'?" Zelda interjected and he was thankful for her quicker mind.
"Earlier! Before! Back then! Formerly! Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreviously!" it shouted as it performed an impossible quintuple flip out of its handstand, then landing in a perfect finishing pose.
"You don't remember though, do you…" it then moaned sadly, hanging its head. "Don't remember… again..."
Both Link and Zelda already had their mouths open to speak when it yelled "OH WELL!", suddenly all excitement again. "We'll just have to become friends AGAIN!"
"Uh…" was our hero's contribution to the subject.
"Iiiiiii'm Maca! And I can jump the highest! Watch!" And indeed, off he went, jumping so far into the air, the mist swallowed him whole. Thankfully, he screeched gleefully the whole time, so Link realized just in time where the child's trajectory would take him and got his head out of the way, catching him with his hands instead.
"Eheheheee! Told you, you're quick!" Maca exalted, waving his arms and legs about in pure joy. His skin felt just like normal bark… but warmer… and he, indeed, weighed next to nothing.
"Now let's have another race! Come on, come on! It'll be fun, funny, funnier, fu…" then, mid tirade, he abruptly stopped… but just for an instant.
"Wuaaah!" he screamed in sudden dismay, wobbling so much he almost couldn't be held. "The Great Deku Tree told me to get you to him and here I am, wasting time!"
Somehow he peeled himself out of Link's grip and hopped back towards the ominous entrance. "Here, here! The Great Deku Tree wants to speak to you! So go in! Go in already!"
As Maca spoke the mist seemed to become thinner and the ever present cyptic sounds of these arcane woods slowly made way for a more natural silence. They both gazed around as detail after detail of their world returned, as the eerily beautiful lights and spectacular, nebulous swirls gradually vanished. Zelda pulled on his hand and pointed towards their jolly guide and, to Link's surprise and, funnily, deep chagrin, he, too, was fading away. Within seconds he had become almost completely translucent… "Wait!" the baffled boy shouted, arm outstretched as if to catch him before his inevitable disappearing. He couldn't explain why a sudden sadness had gripped his heart in a hot-cold hand… as if a long gone friend was about to be lost once more…
"Don't worry, Linky!" the child yelled, his voice as quiet as if coming from far, far away… "We'll have our race another time! And don't be afraid… the Great Deku Tree will remember you as a good friend!"
And with those last, barely audible words the last remnants of fog dissipated, the world becoming unshrouded as if an all-encompassing veil had been removed by a goddess' hand.
Link stared dumbfoundedly at the spot Maca had just dissolved from, trying his hardest to understand, well, anything at all… The things the woodling had said, the strange tearfulness he experienced at their parting… and the niggling, persistent feeling that, at hearing the name of the being supposedly waiting for them, a memory was just at the cusp of reaching his conscience, but not quite managing it.
He felt a gentle hand caressing his cheek, softly pulling him back from his stupor. "What is wrong?" she asked worriedly. He looked at her, that ravishing face he loved to no end, seeing the warmth and affection in her eyes… Such a slim frame, hiding enough strength for an entire country…
He smiled, thankful for her concern, and took her elegant hand in his. "I'll be fine… just the terrible, guilty feeling of having forgotten something… or, possibly, someone…" he muttered, wondering if he was talking sense.
"Hmm…" she nodded, returning his smile. "I think Maca truly knew you then… his last words spoke about how the Tree would remember you as a friend… I'm sure he wanted you to allay just that guilt, hm?"
"The Great Deku Tree…" He muttered to himself, still pricked by that memory that tarried just beyond his grasp. Nevertheless… that name stirred something within…
He shook his head, trying to free it from all these hindering thoughts. All this pondering wouldn't get them any further and there was a lot to do. He turned fully towards his caring angel and, smiling fondly, kissed her forehead to say his heartfelt thanks.
A tad surprised at first, she grinned impishly before standing on her toes to peck him on the lips… grievously short, leaving so much appetite for more, but still a clear, reassuring answer.
For the first time since their accustomed world had them back, they took in their surroundings. After a short, baffled moment, Link had to grin. The woods they had seen during the last minutes of their wild hunt through the mist was still there… except they weren't weirdly slanted trees at all! The bewildered pair stood in the midst of the mountainous Guardian's massive roots, which appeared like a forest of its own. It was shady here, sunlight only glancing in through a few gaps between the roots, large curtains of vines and moss hanging wherever it found purchase, filling the air with the by now familiar, thick scent of must and humidity. He tried to catch a glimpse upwards… the sight of the enormous trunk rising into unspeakable heights from directly below must be staggering… but that view was blocked.
As he looked back, he wasn't surprised to find his cute little professor already busy with the entryway. In the fog, he had thought it an entrance carved into rock… but now it was obvious they were dealing with the way into the hollow that Veneli had described. The path into the Deku Tree… Simple, yet beautiful carvings were fashioned around it, resembling branches, leaves and vines, growing towards a shining sun above the apex. The room inside was just as the young Rito had described it to them. Through the relatively narrow arch they saw part of the drawing, so closely resembling the dragon he had seen upon touching the Master Sword, encompassing the round hall in a seemingly endless spiral. Directly opposite was what could only be a door, but completely circular like the cross-section of a tree-trunk, with a swirling symbol carved into it.
"That's an ancient symbol of Farore!" Zelda breathed excitedly. "It's so old even the priest in the temple of Hyrule-city had to look up its meaning for me! It's supposed to be a leaf, her gift to the world… and the cyclical nature of life is the spiral within it, always repeating, yet still different, passing indefinitely through time…"
Link couldn't suppress a wry grin as he looked sideways at his beautiful savant. He adored it whenever she was gushing over some tiny factoid or intricate detail. "While I admire your enthusiasm, dumpling, I admit I am more interested in the painting above the door…" he chuckled.
"Above the…? Oh! Certainly, yes…" she confirmed a tad flustered, obviously thrown off her line of thinking… which caused him to have to suppress a moderate giggling fit.
Hardly missable above the round portal was the fearsome visage of the dragon, gazing menacingly into the room, its maw opened, teeth bared as if to instantly lunge and devour any unwanted guest. He could almost feel his companion's hairs stand on end… "Right…" she mumbled warily.
"Shall we go?" he asked, not wanting to move too quickly. There was no doubt in his heart that she was brave enough, but a little time to collect one's courage could never hurt… Besides… it wasn't like he was unfazed by all that had happened today already… The nervous tension at having to enter the Tree, a place so arcane, so unknowable, made every heartbeat feel like the beat of a heavy Goron drum… And the anticipation of, at last, finding one of the enigmatic dragons, getting one step closer to their obscure goal and maybe getting a few answers to many burning questions just added on top of that.
Zelda took a deep breath, looking directly into the bronze eyes of the spiralling serpent. "Let's go." she announced firmly, stepping boldly into the room before Link hurriedly followed suit.
The room was set in twilight as the Deku Tree's roots swallowed most of daylight… but even still they marvelled at the vibrant colours and, frankly, terrifyingly life-like design of the dragon that was now wrapping around them. Whoever had painted it had been a master of his craft… he or she had captured the complex motions such a mighty creature might have in flight so vividly that, more than once, their head jerked to the side, startled because they thought they saw movement out of the corner of their eyes. Subconsciously they avoided stepping on the emerald scales drawn on the floor, even though they both, independently, told themselves there could be no danger in a simple painting… right?
They reached the middle of the room… Link swallowed heavily in fluttery anticipation… A gust of wind blew past the entrance, frightening them both to the core with its sudden wail... For a split second he thought the dragon's copper eyes had a menacing glint deep inside them… Yet nothing happened. No barring of vicious claws and teeth, no sudden, ferocious attack… Silence once again…
He exhaled the breath he had held without realizing it and took his hand from the hilt of his sword. "Anticlimactic…" he muttered and earned a nervous little laugh from Zelda.
The remaining few steps across the hall were quicker, as most of the threat seemed dispelled through the blatant lack of reaction from… the painting… Link reflected what laughable paths one's mind chooses to take sometimes, when imagination had been kindled by nervousness…
They reached the large round door, two metres in diameter, looking extremely heavy… and now opening mechanism in sight…
"…and now?" she asked the world in general while scrutinizing the portal's rough looking edges.
"Well, so far we have tried precisely nothing. Would be sad if we were out of ideas already…" he mumbled back quietly, unwilling to disturb the eerie silence of this place. Placing both hands against the slightly prickly wooden surface he pushed, gently at first, then with some weight behind it.
Nothing.
Next he attempted to pull it to either side, as if rolling an enormous wheel…
Not a single millimetre.
Shifting his stance, he tried pushing it upwards, already doubting that the friction of his hands alone would be enough to feel whether this could work even theoretically…
The heavy gate seemed unimpressed…
He brought his right hand to his mouth to try to gnaw out a splinter, his sole reward for his efforts…
"How are those ideas coming along?" his dear, innocent princess asked with, possibly, just a faint suggestion of cheek.
"To put it like you would: I have so far excluded a number of hypotheses which, upon further reflection, were unlikely to achieve success, yet needed to be falsified nevertheless in order to reach a satisfactory outcome. All the while, my lovely assistant accomplished little more than a visual inspection of my busy bottom, looking doubtlessly delicious under the duress of diligently discovering a definitive denouement to dispatch 'dis door." he rattled out, mimicking the lovable, yet slightly haughty face she got whenever she decided to share her impressive knowledge.
Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a, to him, delectable pink. "I was-… I didn't look at-… Assistant?!" she spluttered furiously.
Her flustered, incoherently mouthing face burst the fragile bubble of raucous laughter in his chest and he exploded into giggles so wild he had to use his left hand to support himself against the door.
"You… utter… aargh! You caught me off guard, you cheating dog!" she fumed, caught between embarrassed rage and the irresistible urge to burst out laughing. "I'll assist you, alright! Just you wait, you sausage knight, you!... And I sound nothing like that!" she added viciously, just when he thought she was about to cool down, making him jump back, still giggling like a loon.
He gazed at her, still clearly in a huff, her back purposefully turned towards him, 'inspecting' the door again, her elegant, long ears red from either anger or self-consciousness… The mildest, most peaceful little smile slowly crept on his lips, just from watching her tiniest movements, betraying that nearly all her ire was an act. It was at the weirdest moments these feelings overcame him… He knew he must look like a complete, love-struck idiot, the way he beheld her… which, to him, sounded just fine…
She began turning back around... and he couldn't wait to see how she was going to react.
"Link, look!" she exclaimed all of a sudden, pointing at the door directly to his side. His head spun around and he twitched in bafflement at seeing a spot on the gate glowing faintly green… precisely the spot where his hand had been just seconds ago…
They watched, silently, for a few moments as the inexplicable handprint faded and the texture of wood returned. He wondered, rather numbly, if her mind felt as perplexedly empty as his… before, slowly, his scientific curiosity and urge to explore were kindled mightily.
With only minor hesitation he placed his left index finger against the door. His ever careful sweetheart seemed twitchy, as if she wanted to reach out to stop him, yet reconsidered at the last second. After two seconds he pulled his digit back… once again there was a single green-glowing dot, stronger now, but fading just as quickly.
"Do you feel something? Does it hurt?" she asked, worry clearly in her voice as she nervously bit her knuckle, her eyes flickering anxiously between his face and his hand, trying to make sure that there wasn't even the slightest discomfort.
"Nothing… a little warmth, maybe…" he mumbled, focussing on his senses.
His right hand hadn't left such a trace, had it? He gingerly touched the door with the five fingers of his right, then removed it again… no reaction whatsoever.
"Just your left…" Zelda thought aloud, brow furrowed in concentration, do doubt hiding a veritably fireworks of thoughts and theories, but to him it was quite simple…
"My sword hand…" he stated, showing her a weird, thoughtful smile.
She nodded seriously after a second of pondering. "You are meant to be here…"
He didn't outwardly react to her words, but for reasons he wasn't quite sure of, they rang deeply within him. Fate… Destiny… What were they but the designs someone else deliberated for you? A concept he had always profoundly disfavoured…
"I wonder…" he grumbled, looking closely at Farore's leaf again. It was smoothly carved into the wood, then apparently painted with a dark red colour that had nearly faded over the centuries.
"The symbol?" she asked, as if she'd had the same idea.
Putting his index and middle finger together, and taking a deep breath, he touched the innermost point of the spiral within the arrowhead-shaped leaf around it. Immediately he felt energy sparking through his fingertips… powerful, but gentle and warming… despite the suddenness of the jolt, he felt little to no urge to pull his hand back. And there was something else… a tingle at the back of his head… as if someone were standing behind him, patiently waiting for him to turn around… as if someone had been waiting a long, long time…
He ignored both sensations, for now… Progress had to take priority. On a whim, he let his digits follow the smooth groove, leaving a faint trail of greenish glow in the spiral. Both of them held their breath in suspense at what might happen when he had completed his circular drawing of light…
The spiral flashed in a brilliant white while the rest of the room seemed to grow dark. The ground heaved and their vision blurred as if walls, floor and ceiling were in sudden motion. Instantly Link felt dizzy as he lost his orientation… then his blood froze when he saw the long body of the dragon, barely visible in the sudden gloom, writhe and twist. Zelda gasped in equal terror and grabbed his tunic. It was all he could do to remain standing as every tiny motion blurred his sight so much his eyes started to water. A deep, menacing groan reverberated through the hall, so heavy they could feel it through their soles all the way to their chests.
The dragon! Near panic, his gaze darted around, despite it making him nauseous, desperate to find its head, sure that if he couldn't they would have little time to regret their inability to react. The eldritch darkness and the unnatural fuzz before his eyes made it near impossible…
"There!" Zelda shrieked in his arms, pointing wildly.
His vision, as if constantly going in and out of focus almost couldn't follow her arm, but then, suddenly, he saw… The two yellow, glowing eyes, circling slowly around them. His hands turned cold and his breath caught in his throat as he drew his sword and shield. Would he have to fight this thing now?! How in the world would he even begin to do that?!
The walls were still alive with the constant stirring of the dragon's scaled and thorns, the long, droning rumble still so overpowering that it numbed his nerves. The shining eyes slowed, as if ready to finally strike. He raised his shield, thinking it a truly pitiful defence against such a foe…
A sharp crack that nearly burst their eardrums made them both gasp. He couldn't say where it had come from but… it had sounded decidedly… wooden! Now that he thought about it, the whole infernal noise that had ground their bones together had a quality of bending, twisting wood to it… combined with the fact that, surprisingly, they were still alive and not rent between enormous teeth…
With a final, violent lurch the room stopped shaking, the walls stopped twisting. The darkness faded… as did the strange force that had blurred their vision…
The circular hall now once again seemed as still as it had before that hellish dance, except it was now tinged in a soft, greenish light that, after a few seconds of fearful looking about, seemed to come from the emerald scales of the drawn beast. Link gazed upwards, toward the far side of the room… where, suddenly, the dragon's head crowned the high, arched exit… which no longer lead outside but into a hallway, followed by a larger hall deeper in the tree…
"How did…" he whispered, looking back and forth between the round gate behind and the way they came through in front. It was hard to be sure with all the quaking and jerking around, but he was reasonably sure that they hadn't moved… so...
"Link… the entire room..." she breathed, still clinging onto him. "It must have…"
"Rotated!" he finished for her, questioning both their sanity as he said it. He shook his head in disbelief. "Have you ever experienced something that was utterly impossible as well as ludicrous, yet still made somehow sense like this?"
Her short burst of incredulous laughter was answer enough. "There were no gaps in the doorway… it looked like perfect, uninterrupted wood all around… there is no conceivable way we could have moved but a centimetre! But the sudden shaking and vibrating, as well as the tortured groan of the tree around us… then again, how in the world did the painting move?! Nayru's wisdom, my head is still spinning, trying to comprehend!"
Link didn't even attempt to find an answer, instead just scratched his scalp. Two steps into the supposed resting place of a creature of legends and already they were faced with mystery over conundrum over enigma, stacked so high their minds almost couldn't apprehend… It worried him… but he found, much to his pleasure, that child-like wonder and the heart-thumping lust for exploration far outweighed any disquiet. Before he knew it, a wide grin graced his face. Never before, in all his years of exploring woods, caves and the abandoned mining tunnel he, Ricco and Marten had stumbled upon had his curious spirit been as tickled as it was now. The only thing that set his brain even more abuzz was when he gazed at the girl at his side and she, too, had a cautious, yet nonetheless eager smile adorning her radiant features. For a moment, he was surprised… but he knew he shouldn't have been. If anything, she was even more inquisitive than he was… and her sensible and careful, yet indomitable and infectious spirit of adventure was something he adored immensely. 'What better companion could a reckless idiot like me have?'
They beamed at each other wordlessly for at least ten seconds, before bursting out in laughter… He couldn't say whether madness had finally established its reign over their minds, or whether they were simply showing their relief that they had indeed not been gobbled up by a glowy-eyed wyrm… and that it all had the perfectly reasonable explanation that the tree had just spontaneously re-grown a part of itself within seconds. 'Whether madness or no', he thought as he pulled her into a goofily giggling kiss, 'this is a thousand times better than only breathless tension and fear!'
"Do we have any concept of what we are supposed to be doing?" Zelda asked as they had shed their backpacks and warily walked through the newly changed doorway.
"Not in the slightest." he answered with that peculiar giddiness still bubbling inside.
"Do you have any plan of where to go? What to watch out for? What to do? And, more importantly, what not to do?" she questioned further, her tone somewhere between grumbling and amused.
"Nope." he quipped, peering eagerly into the large hall they were about to enter.
"So, in essence, we bumble around near blindly until we happen upon something… or something happens upon us, is that what you are insinuating?" she growled with a noticeable touch of annoyance.
"Precisely!" he pronounced, his grandioseness hampered somewhat by keeping his voice prudently low.
"You… are a dolt." she judged evenly, then chuckled despite her misgivings. "Looks like it's up to your assistant to ensure both our safety and success."
"Absolutely!"
"Will you stop being so monosyllabic?! Or I swear, whatever dangers this place holds in store, it will be me you are running from!" she fumed, actually stomping her foot, which only made her little tantrum infinitely more adorable.
Link wrested his eyes from the sight ahead, hard as that was, looked her square in the face and cleared his throat. "I wholeheartedly concur. With you keeping me on a tight leash while I proceed to monkey around with everything I see is a recipe for guaranteed triumph!"
The face she made did not bode well for his continued existence. While he loved keeping her teetering on that exciting edge between humour and outrage, he also knew when to abort.
"Alright, alright…" he said placatingly. "Come now, dumpling! Do you really believe I would just start off into a random direction like a giggling lunatic, tinker with whatever falls into my hands without rhyme or reason and, in addition, drag you after me?" He presented her his best ingenuous smile as he slowly stepped close again and, when her features softened, cupped her cheeks in his hands.
"I am fascinated by this place, Zelda! Incredibly so… And that doesn't mean I will dart around like a child in a candy store. I want to understand this place! Learn its history, discover its secrets… So, naturally, we will proceed carefully and methodically, understand how everything works and what everything means. An academic approach… Agreed?"
He knew instantly that he had chosen the right words, for slowly her misgiving frown turned into a wry, impish grin between his hands. "One of these days one of your fantastical last-minute saves is going to come too late, sausage knight. And then you'll find out just how messy an exploding princess can get…" The flagrant danger in her voice shivered him in the most exciting of ways. He decided not to say anything, but instead kissed her briefly, but passionately, until she pushed him away in that hesitant, unwilling way that told him everything he needed to know. "That's enough of that, you! Get on with monkeying around!" she growled, slightly out of breath and stifling a giggle.
The corridor reached its end… and both made involuntary sounds of amazement at seeing the large hall that followed. 15 metres in diameter and twice as high, imperfectly round like the inside of a tree-trunk… in contrast to the dragon-room, this one did not seem fashioned in any way… but grown. There were wooden… candlestands, for the lack of a better word, but they held strange, crinkly pods, each glowing in a different colour… Their combined light provided a dim, yet oddly cosy atmosphere. The floor was covered with a chaotic array of tables, looking like the many shaped cross-sections of trees, as well as chairs of a hundred different shapes, some simple, some of delicately woven branches or vines… There were rugs of moss in many different shades of green, scattered about with no discernable order… The tables were littered with all kinds of things: bowls, spoons, paper with childlike drawings, books, toy swords, a slingshot, vases, pots… all made of wood… and everything seemed child-sized. The entire hall had the unmistakable air of a kids' common room, a place of constant disarray, of playing and fun. It would have looked incredibly sweet, had all the different utensils not appeared so sad, lonely and abandoned, as if all the children had at some point just vanished into thin air.
To the right, they discovered a smaller, though equally high room, its walls made up of hundreds of ingrown beds in varying sizes… There was no ladder to be seen, so the inhabitants either had to fly… or be incredibly gifted in jumping, as Maca had been…
To the left there was yet another round-ish room and it had clearly been a place for preparing and cooking food… There were various jars and containers strewn about, as well as the dried, but strangely not rotted, remains of leaves, vegetables and fruit. They both had felt brave and lifted lid after lid, discovering spices, greens, known and alien, honey, nuts… Their silently giggling exploration was only cut short when, from one innocently looking pot, a veritable flood of spiders gushed forth when Zelda tried to peek inside. To Link's deep admiration, she made not a single sound, but carefully placed the lid back down, took a measured step back, then shook herself with an expression of profound disgust.
All in all, their investigations were applaudably quiet, their movements cautious and deliberate, their conversations hushed. Just once overheard his dumpling mutter "Assistant!" darkly to herself, causing him to very nearly burst out laughing. The longer they were in here, however…
Link, while truly enamoured with this place and eager to let his fingers glide over ever surface, smooth or rough, and smell the invigoratingly earthy and resiny air, felt peculiar undertones of sorrow dampen his mood. Memories assaulted him, so faint he wasn't even sure they were indeed true recollections, or just wanderings of his mind. As he gazed over the main hall, he thought he briefly saw dozens of his playmates, running about, eating, playing, quarrelling… a deafening hubbub of so many different voices, talking, shouting, screaming in delight or frustration, laughing…
And now? Emptiness… and quiet…
"Is… everything alright?" Zelda asked timidly, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. Damn it all, he should have known that she would react to his sudden mournfulness immediately.
"Hm." he nodded. "It's just… so void…" He could see in her eyes that she hadn't experienced these particular glimpses of lively turmoil, but that she understood his meaning nonetheless.
"I…"
A sudden wooden rumble pierced the silence, making them both twitch and gasp in fright. It had clearly come from the one place they hadn't investigated yet: the corridor on the far side of the entrance.
After a quick, wide-eyed look at each other, they snuck towards it, now being doubly careful not to make any noise.
Creeping along the wall towards the corner, Link poked his head out just enough so he could see around it. A narrow, ten metre hallway, then a round portal, similar-looking than the one in the dragon-room, but open. His bowels cramped and his teeth gnashed involuntarily… Just behind it stood two figures: A tall, Rito warrior… and a slight, young-looking woman with jet black hair… and red eyes that seemed almost glowing in the gloom. Despite her physical presence appearing far more harmless than her companion's, Link's gaze seemed drawn towards her and he felt like a lone deer in the woods, watching the approach of a merciless predator.
The two's gazes were locked tightly, her posture relaxed, while his was tense and… almost pained. She gestured with her right hand and spoke a few words he couldn't hear… but a nasty shiver coursed through his body, followed by a wave of goosebumps.
An angry frown passed over the woman's features and she repeated the gesture, a lot more forceful this time. The warrior bent forward and groaned as if in sudden agony… upon which the faint smile was returned to her face.
Link felt hot anger flash through his mind and his grip around his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. Whatever that witch was doing here, she had already shown enough evil intent that he wanted to eject her from this once serene place. But what to do?
Stay back to keep in the relative safety of being hidden? Then he would allow her to continue on deeper within the Deku Tree, to do whatever she pleased unchecked.
Challenge her, then? That might once again risk Zelda's wellbeing…
He bared his teeth, furious at himself that he lacked the foresight to make a decision.
"Hmm…" a smooth, silky woman's voice cracked the silence. "Suddenly I smell…" she mused to herself… then suddenly turned her head and, to his utter shock, looked directly at him, crimson eyes wide open. "… a coward…"
As clandestinely as he could, he pushed his charge back, who had, of course, not resisted peeking around the corner herself.
Then, rising slowly while keeping his hands ready to draw his steel, he stepped into full view. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked, pleasantly surprised how calm his voice sounded despite his heart hammering in his throat.
The sinister girl gave a disappointed sigh. "And here I was hoping for something interesting from the Protector of the Light…" she snarled, ridicule oozing from her voice. "And so late you are too! Now I don't even have time to play with you children. I am almost done here. Say bye-bye!" she sing-songed, waving with her hand like a small kid. Then she turned back around towards her Rito companion. "Now, my dear, I have another task. Keep them off my back, hm?" she lilted almost sweetly, then made off further into the corridor without another look back.
Throwing caution to the wind, Link started sprinting after her. He couldn't let her get away! She knew who they were! That could only mean one thing…
The tall warrior stepped forward and the heavy wooden log-door slid closed behind him. He wanted to yell 'Out of the way!', but before he could so much as squawk, the magnificent, slivery white feathers of the large bird started glowing light blue and he spread his mighty wings. For a moment, only a few steps away, Link saw the empty, far off stare in the man's face… then a split second of complete silence… then the Rito made a solitary beat with his wings… and a sudden gust of wind buffeted him across the face and chest, driving all air out of his lungs as if he had been hit by a battering ram. His head snapped forward and briefly everything turned black… until he crashed into the floor about five metres away from where he had been before. The hit was hard and painful, but his training and lightning quick reflexes kicked in, making him roll as controlled as possible until he had both his feet on the ground again. He jumped forward his legs propelling him fro standstill to full-speed in an instant, trying to get to his adversary, who's glowing wings were already carrying out their next stroke. The second blast seemed even stronger, driving his eyes into his skull and making his ears ring in protest. He remained standing through sheer force of will, at an impossible angle, his clothes tearing painfully at him, dragging him further back with each moment. He could neither see nor hear, as he had to shield his face from the brutal onslaught of wind… if the Rito decided to swoop forward to end it, he would have little to offer as resistance… and despite all his furious strength, he couldn't even gain a single centimetre.
Yelling a foul curse, which was swallowed by the immense noise anyway, he turned away, allowing himself to be propelled towards the common room. The wind here was milder, yet still the force of a hurricane. Stemming himself against the storm once more, he hurriedly looked around for Zelda, hoping he wouldn't see her collapsed against a wall…
He couldn't spot her! He tried to find a mane of golden hair but, to his increasing terror, couldn't. Where…?
He heard something! Extremely faint through the ear-piercing rushing… Her voice! His head darted to the right, to the opening for the 'bedroom', praying…
Yes! There she stood, holding on tight in the relatively calm doorway, hair waving wildly. Thank the three!
He looked back towards the Rito and saw, with a chill in his bones, that he was coming closer, feathers and wings glowing brightly blue…
He had to get them out of here! This warrior was not the enemy he needed to fight! But he had no idea how he could overcome him without… without death… So the only option was retreat… for now.
As quickly as possible, using everything he could to keep himself standing as ever increasingly vicious gusts battered him, he made his way towards her.
She reached out, her hand jolting back and forth as she, too, was pelted by the storm. He grabbed her, then pulled her close and out of the doorway to the bedroom. Painfully slowly he manoeuvred them to the exit, keeping her ducked, shielding her between his body and the wall.
The Rito had stridden into the hall with them… and flapped… Link gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles until they hurt, bracing himself against the wall.
The impact nearly smashed him into unconsciousness… as if a Hinox's fist had ground his head against the bark. Zelda screamed as wooden bowls, knives and tables alike crashed against the walls, bursting into sharp shrapnel around them. Like a miracle, they were spared from any larger collisions, though every little projectile felt like a punch from Ricco against Link's back.
When the initial burst had abated, he once again dragged their way towards the exit.
Yelling inanely with fear and exertion, he let the storm drive them into the dragon-room, then broke their speed as best as he could before they crashed into the wall. With a last, hasty look back, he saw nothing but a pair of glowing wings… With flying fingers he drew the spiral, praying to the goddesses that his shaky hand wasn't cause enough for the spell to fail…
Darkness fell… as did sound… and the weird, blurry, motion surrounded them once more, so disturbing before, now suddenly carrying almost intoxicating relief.
They both clung to each other, breathing heavily as the insane wind had made it almost impossible to take the air.
When the odd, lurching motion and wavering darkness finally stopped, Link quickly checked on his protégé in his arms, making sure that she was unharmed.
"Link… I'm fine!" she deflected his attempts brusquely, launching into her own diagnostic search on him. "Are you hurt? Were you hit?!" she asked quickly, trying to inspect his head and back.
"No." he lied… Everything hurt, but not badly. Another thing was far more pressing on his mind.
"Come, we have to get out of this room! We don't know whether this guy can open it from his side and I don't want to be in here to find out!" he detailed rapidly.
Zelda gazed at him wide eyed for an instant, then nodded curtly.
They snatched their backpacks which, luckily, had only been blown across the room and hadn't spilled their contents, then hastened out…
Where a bunch of Rito swords greeted them…
Huzzah for cliffhangers!
I'd be particularly interested to hear, whether I got the... visuals, for the lack of a better word, right and whether you have a vivid picture in your mind how it's all supposed to look.
Thanks, as always, for your support!