The first dungeon has finally been completed, Akko and her friends have already managed to take the first of the nine witches to the place where the seal will be broken, but it is still the beginning of a great mission, a mission that will still change a lot of things for Hyrule, with its respective risks, as well as the danger of being captured byAppleton, since any mistake could cost them a great price, with a journey beginning that could be another point to discover how to continue on that intriguing journey.
It was a long journey, with the cart having to descend all those mountains near Arcturus beach, and the group of girls arriving at the beach at the end of the day at dusk, where there was a tent set up after the trio had left to rest for a while, and it was already possible to see the sailing boat from afar.
"We're going to get on that big boat out at sea, it has plenty of room for all of us, it's going to be a long journey" said Diana.
"I can't wait to see Chariot again... Now that I know her real identity, as well as Croix, Holly and Chelsea, everything is going to be so perfect, I can't wait for it all, I can't wait..." Akko said, looking at the horizon.
"Have you ever travelled on a boat before? I recommend that you don't look at the sea, you could end up feeling sick and sick to the point of vomiting in all the water there, well tomorrow we'll leave since we'll have the whole day to enjoy it, for today let's rest" said Hellene.
"Let's light a fire and talk, enjoy the time on this beautiful beach, I've never seen one from so close up, look how beautiful it is... It's not every day that you get to see a beach, remember that Chariot promised to take us to one" said Atsuko as she pointed towards the horizon in awe of the sea.
"The landscape may be beautiful, but there's nothing more beautiful than that smile of yours, my love" said Cavendish as he hugged his beloved.
Soon the girls were making a fire and resting on the beach, playing some music, eating some of the few meats they had managed to hunt, as well as preparing other types of food and drinking water, letting time pass.
When the sky finally darkened, it was possible to see that the constellation of Claiomh Solais had a brighter star.
"Wow, the constellation of Claiomh Solais really is true, it's getting brighter" said the shocked Kagari.
"We're really managing to make the stars shine brighter" said the platinum blonde-haired girl, and soon her bracelet began to beep it was Croix calling.
"Did you see that, girls? Now that the sky is clearer, we can see it better here, the constellation of Claiomh Solais, the third star shone brighter, the star of Arae Aryrha, keep it up and we'll get them all" said Meridies.
"Here the sky has also become clearer and you can see it clearly, it's brighter and more beautiful, it's enchanting, but nothing beats Akko's beauty" said the blue-eyed girl, looking at her beloved, who was blushing.
"Oh no, she's going to say that all the time, Croix" said Hellene.
"I'm just admiring what's really beautiful" said the passionate older princess as the lilac-haired woman giggled.
"How cute, I'm going now, it's good to know you're well and enjoying the evening, I'm glad you made it to the beach" said Croix as he left the conversation.
Soon the girls were just enjoying the scenery, chatting, passing the time and then going to sleep, since there wasn't much to do there apart from resting and waiting for the time to pass, so they all lay down in various hammocks attached to trees, with some couples even sharing the same hammock as time went by.
When dawn finally arrived, they set off from Arcturus beach, boarding the sailing boat with all the things they had collected from resources, leaving the place for a long journey.
Organising everything, the long-awaited time to set off arrived. Amanda immediately took the anchor off the boat and set off, with the wind helping to carry the boat further away. What soon became apparent was the immensity of the ocean in the midst of the boat sailing through the waters.
"Wow, I've never been on a boat on the sea, I don't even think I've been on a boat, it's a strange feeling out here on the water, at the same time it's good, the sea, the waves, the sky, it seems like it's never going to
end, it's always so huge and to think that there's so much of Hyrule to explore" said the crimson-eyed girl as she gazed up at the sky.
"It's going to be a long journey, I hope you can all make the most of the time, it's going to be a really good time for all of us to relax, without any worries, after all, it's going to be a long way, and you'll be able to admire the many beauties there are in the sea around here" said Diana.
"I've travelled with sailing boats a few times, but that was only to tour the rivers of Edo and also to cross the sea here, it's a very different and strange feeling, here at sea even more so, it seems like it's never going to end, you can't even see what's ahead of you apart from water and more water" said Marianne.
"Our route is more on the outside, it may take a little longer, but it's still the safest, not to mention the time we'll have to have fun and chat and that's what's interesting" McLaren said.
"Triskellion Island here we come!" Said the brownish woman, pointing her fist at the front of the boat, pointing forwards.
[...]
The group of girls faced the most varied conditions, huge waves, heavy rain, sunny days, days when the wind was weak and didn't pull the boat at all, moments of great beauty seeing the animals of the sea such as dolphins and whales passing very close to the boat, which on top of that are huge creatures that would accompany the boat sailing, as this also attracted some fish.
They dock at the island, arriving there in the middle of the afternoon, in the deep waters of the island the boat pulls up and is tied to the pier with the help of Croix and Chariot, after which the girls walk off the boat, getting out and hugging those they had just seen after so long.
"You've finally arrived!" The older girls said, relieved to see the girls.
"We've finally arrived, the journey was long, but with the girls it was fun" said Cavendish.
"Apart from the fact that the boat rocks every night because of a few people and creaks, it was..." Said Marianne as those responsible for the noises blushed.
"Marianne, it's been a long time, you've grown up a lot, you don't even look like the same little girl you used to" said Croix in surprise.
"Phew... I couldn't stand the rocking of the sea any longer either" said Akko, scratching the back of his neck and then being hugged by both of them.
"Akko! It's you, how magical, finally it's good to know we're safe" said Chariot hugging the girl.
"And you here Chariot, I haven't been able to talk to you since that moment, but I miss you so much, knowing that you were the person who trained me all those years makes me so excited, I could never have thought that I would finally succeed at something, I was rescued by them, I was able to see you again after six years... Chariot, you were my greatest inspiration to keep going and be a great warrior, it was thanks to you that I had the strength to be here" said the emotional Atsuko, who even had her tears wiped away by the older woman.
"I'm flattered by it all, knowing that I was able to help Hyrule's greatest heroine, look at you, the hope of Hyrule, you've even grown up a bit, you're behaving like a grown woman, a great sleeping warrior, I'm sure you're much more skilful in combat I presume" said Du Nord until Kagari herself took her sword out of its sheath.
"We can try it out, I've always dreamed of facing Chariot, although I've done it several times, but for old times' sake it would be nice to relive what our training was like" said the crimson-eyed girl.
"Oh look who's turned up, you've finally shown your face girl, I missed you too, Chariot really is right, you're a great warrior like that, you remind me a lot of my sister... I'm sorry about what happened, I'm well aware of the news, but I also know that you'll be able to bring peace back and justice for everything they did to her and Bernadette" said Chelsea.
"Oh Mrs McLaren, I'm so happy to see you here, Holly, you've grown up too, how have you been spending your time?" said the smiling brown woman.
The conversations were soon thrown away between them, but after so many years away, there was still a lot of gossip that could be thrown away during their return, but soon there was a surprise attack on Luna Nova's warrior with a wooden sword that she dodged with enormous ease and even picked up another that was thrown towards her to start the fight.
"Come on, it seems that with surprise attacks, your guard really keeps you on your toes" said the red-haired woman.
"I didn't spend the six years standing around doing nothing, I trained a lot, even in that cell I was able to practise some of the movements" said Akko.
A fight broke out between the two generations of warriors from Luna Nova, Chariot against Atsuko. The two were very evenly matched, the Du Nord's thrusts and slashes were very strong, but it was surprising how calm the younger woman was, who managed to just keep moving, taking deep breaths and not moving too far back, until she maintained a good defence.
"Akko has really changed a lot over the years, she's really like a beacon, she just shines every year, I knew she'd be as talented a warrior as my sis" Chelsea said, watching everything.
The brown-haired woman began to counterattack and that was where she gained the advantage over the red-haired one, both in terms of strength, since she was wearing power gloves, and also in terms of skill and speed, a precision where simply the one who had trained her was beginning to take steps backwards to the point where she reached the end of the pier almost falling into the sea, but was held back by the crimson-eyed woman who even stared at her with a smile.
"You have to walk less backwards, Chariot" said Luna Nova's youngest warrior.
"Not bad Akko, it seems that time has really made you more skilful" said the older woman.
"I just want to get revenge on that bastard, if I was so skilful I wouldn't have to suffer so much to escape, I still have a lot to improve, anyway I'm grateful that the girls helped me get here, it's been fun to see how you've improved as well Professor Ursula" said the smiling Akko.
"They haven't called me that for years" said Du Nord, smiling.
"It's good to be back, to see you here, this place is huge and looks very comfortable, I can't wait to spend a few days here and find out about the adventures to come" said the excited Atsuko.
The girls relaxed on the island, observing the very peculiar place and chatting, but soon Croix called them all together for a more serious conversation, mainly about what had happened over the last few days, especially in the dungeon.
Soon Akko was telling them in detail, as were the other girls about their journey so far and the explanation of what had happened to Kagari over the last six years, which shocked everyone, who had already imagined that it had happened.
"Did he really think that giving you all these luxuries would make your head spin? It's comical, you've really put up with it all these years, I admire that about you Akko, anyway... We have a serious matter to resolve here, you're not just here to visit and go to the dungeon, we have to discuss the future of Hyrule"
"What are we going to do then, Mrs Meridies?" asks the crimson-eyed one.
"We've located the nine dungeons of the nine witches, you've already passed the temple of Luna Nova where there's the Woodward dungeon, but there are still many more to go, I'll start showing you each one" said Chariot.
A more detailed map of the whole of Hyrule was taken from a roll and placed on a board showing the various locations with the names of each of the nine witches in different places, Woodward in the forest of Luna Nova, in the temple of Luna Nova, Gwendolyn Benson on Triskellion Island in the dungeon of the same name, Victoria McLaren on the island of Eire in the Banshee tower, Beatrix Cavendish at Wedinburgh Castle in the castle's lost catacombs, Molly McIntre in the Hologorium chambers near the kingdom of Appleton, Mako Kagari on the island of Edo in the temple of Chiba, Freya in the tower of Rastavan along the path that leads underwater, Wangari in the dungeon of Gerudo and the last of them Louise Du Nord in the lands of the Zoras.
All of them have their locations pinpointed on the map, and most of them are in locations within the continent
of Hyrule, which means that they will need to take a path that will be very complicated and arduous to deal with in order to find the witches and defeat the monsters in the dungeon
"Well, at least four of them are safe to find, since they're on islands, the other five will be difficult, the Hologorium Chambers are too close to the kingdom of Appleton, the Rastavan tower even has Alan, but the problem is when we have to get there, the city of Rastavan is well guarded by guards, the Gerudo lands are an unknown, Andrew's troops simply haven't got there, but it's a desert and you know how complicated a desert is to get through, not to mention that we're not Gerudo, as for the Zoras' lands, that's another one that's going to be difficult, the Zoras weren't conquered byAppleton, but they're also not peaceful with those who are Hyllian because of the war" Akko said, explaining to the girls.
"Woah how do you know all this Akko?" Croix asks in surprise.
"It's been years trapped in that castle, Andrew tells us everything, he knows that we could pass through those places, he told us that there are villages that don't welcome Hyllians and that it would be hard work for us, but we can try, Four of the dungeons are guaranteed, two are unknown and another three will be hard work" Kagari said.
"So what can we do? Have you thought of an order? You know Hyrule better than we do" said Meridies.
"From their names I think we'll go in the order of Woodward, Gwendolyn, Victoria, Mako, Beatrix, Wangari, Louise, Freya and we'll end up in Molly, she might be the most difficult, not in monsters, but to get there, we'll go by what's safe, at least Wedinburgh is safer than the unknown ones, since Wedinburgh ended up being abandoned, there are still people living there, but the city is still in ruins, it's much less guarded than the surroundings" Kagari said pointing to the map in order.
"Wow, but it's going to be complicated for everything, it's going to take a long time" said Hellene.
"It's better to take our time and be safe than to go through some danger, well I think that in a few weeks if everything goes well we'll all be finished and after that what do we do?" Diana said.
"According to legend, the warrior who carries the Claiomh Solais and has discovered the Seven Words will go to the temple of the nine witches nearby and say all seven words at once, placing the staff on the pedestal and breaking the seal of Gran Triskellion, which will free the nine witches and grant her the great power to defeat Ganondorf, the power that has lain dormant for over a thousand years" said the red-haired woman.
"So I'll be the one to do it, I hope we survive, it won't be easy, the first dungeon I almost died in, let alone the challenges ahead, we're talking about monsters here that can take more of a beating and all that" said the one with the crimson eyes.
"By the way, come with us, we'll show you around the Temple of the Nine Witches, so you can get an idea of what this place is all about" said Croix.
They left the house and went to the temple on Triskellion Island. As they entered, they could see that it was a large room with beautiful pillars on columns that looked like a Greek temple, until they reached a round room where there were nine spaces, one of which was already occupied by the emerald with Woodward in human size inside, she had her hands clasped together over her chest and on the floor there was a design of leaves that formed a Triskellion enveloping everything on the floor in a green colour made of emeralds and right in the middle of everything there was a hole with the sceptre in it.
"Woah, look at the size of this place" said the delighted Akko.
"This is where your journey will come full circle and you will become a warrior so powerful that you will be able to defeat the spirit of Ganondorf and Andrew Hanbridge once and for all" said Chariot.
"I can feel it, I can feel the power of it all flowing through me, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they have all this sacrifice honoured, I'm going to defeat the damned thing once and for all, this will be the place where Hyrule will know peace" said the motivated Atsuko, who was even bending down in the middle of the room.
"She really is the chosen one... To think that I implied so much when I was younger due to my lack of maturity, but you can see how she was the best person to be in this position, she's managed to get far, even I in Akko's place wouldn't have made it..." Diana said.
"The important thing is that we help her, in the next dungeons the challenge will be greater and greater, she may even become stronger and everything, but she still runs the risk of being killed, so I ask you to protect her too" said Du Nord.
"Let's go back, I think I've stayed too long in this sacred place, I've been able to feel a lot, I can see that the mission will be great, this is what I should have done six years ago and now I'm making it a reality, it may have taken me a while, but the delay is what made me stronger" said Kagari.
Together they all make their way out of the temple, back to the house, where they still have the map of the plan the girls intend to make, the long journey of this whole group that could even make history without having any idea that they are on something epic.
The crimson-eyed girl soon connects the dots when she realises that in all that they were nine for the whole trip.
"Have you ever thought about it? There are nine of us and there are nine witches, so that means we're the new nine witches" Said the brownish girl as they all laughed.
"What a trip Akko, most of us don't even know how to do magic, but I loved the analogy" said Cavendish.
"But it makes sense, you see. There are nine of us going on a journey to save Hyrule, I'm not doing it alone, I'm doing it with nine friends, we're the nine witches, it may not seem like it, but it will soon be a reality" said the girl and they all laughed.
"Seriously, girls, today we're going to enjoy a few days of fun before setting off on a journey, I also want to see if you're ready with your skills, I can already see that Akko is ready, but what about the rest, you're going to face dangers ahead and they won't be easy at all" Meridies said.
"Speaking of fun... I haven't forgotten about this, we can make the wedding happen" Hellene said excitedly and immediately the three girls who were getting married blushed.
"Hellene!" say Marianne, Akko and Diana.
"Marriage? What do you mean wedding? You didn't tell me about this surprise before?" Said the curious Chariot.
"It's just a silly idea of my sister's, she came up with the idea of getting married here on the island and then we'll have a bigger, official wedding when peace is restored in Hyrule" said the blonde-haired girl.
"How cute, your sister is right, it could be very interesting, a wedding, it's a good idea, but you know it's a huge responsibility and you're also sure you'll be with this person forever... Besides, at night... Well, you don't just kiss, you don't just sleep together and hold hands, the marriage has to be consummated" said Croix
"It's not as if Diana and Akko haven't been doing this the whole way" said Leclerc with a tired look on her face, and they all laughed.
"I'm just going to ask you one more time, are you sure about the wedding, apart from the fact that a wedding between you... Well, the royal lineage makes Diana queen of Wedinbugh and Akko also becomes one as a consequence, unless she gives up, in which case the queens become Hellene and Marianne" explains Meridies.
"Ugh, there's that, I'll become queen, but I think I'd do it for Hyrule" said Kagari.
"Queen of my heart, you are already my love" said the blue-eyed girl, running her hand over her beloved's cheek and then giving her a kiss.
"We want to get married!" The four of them said.
"It seems that the certainty is very great, may the triforce bless the new queens of Hyrule" said Du Nord, bowing to Diana and Akko.
"No, we'll only be queen when Hyrule is taken and restored, for now we're just brides and then wives, aren't we, my love?" said the affectionate Diana.
"All right, your majesties, whatever you say, I'll get everything ready for a ceremony tomorrow. Get some rest, we still have a lot to talk about" said the red-haired woman, laughing.
(Me queen? Me queen of Hyrule, as a future queen? I'm going to be the wife of the queen of all this, Diana is queen, I even forgot that, by the Triforce, that makes me a queen too, I'm going to go from a girl who was nothing, a complete negation to a future queen, I'm literally going to be the most important person in Hyrule if I survive it all).
With that they even blushed a little, then continued to relax, chatting away, especially Chelsea with her nieces, who was even happy about the girls' wedding, also loving listening to Akko talking about what she had been through and also about the feelings that were always there, which the eldest simply went on to say how obvious it was.
A while later, night was falling on the outskirts of the island, the sky sparkling with stars, which seemed to gaze back into Kagari's crimson eyes that shone with her, also seeing her future wife arriving at her side.
"To think we're here... Finally together... I've waited years for this, I looked at the constellation of Claiomh Solais and imagined you coming on a boat in that direction, appearing with my mums... Today can't be like this, but I was still able to be here with you, love..." Said the blue-eyed one.
"Now I'm thinking... Now if we get married, you'll become a queen, it's surprising, am I really going to become another one, just like me? As soon as I'm just a nothing, I could have the chance to end this journey at the top" said the surprised Atsuko.
"In spite of everything, you deserve love, you'll save all of Hyrule, you have to stand by the queen, which in this case will be me... I just keep thinking now... Will I ever be as great a queen as my mums were? They brought all the best to Hyrule while they ruled, I want them to be able to feel some pride in me in their next life..." said the future queen.
"As queen I'm sure, we'll do our best, your mothers will be proud, we have everything here to bring prosperity and peace to Hyrule, we have to believe in ourselves, never forget what Chariot always said" said Kagari.
"Your magic is believing in yourself" said Cavendish.
"It sounds silly, but that phrase is powerful, it's the belief that we're here, we could never have a chance of winning if... If we simply stood still, Andrew would come with his troops at some point, but now... Now we have a way to go, we have a direction to follow" said the smiling warrior from Luna Nova.
"To think that everything I imagined when I was younger about being queen might actually come true, but not in the way I thought, I imagined that my mothers would only end up passing on the position and I would have all the responsibility of the kingdom on my back, but now after everything I've learnt I see that I have enormous admiration for the people my mothers were as queens and I will still look up to them a lot... I hope I'm a good queen" said the blue-eyed girl, who then received a kiss from her future wife.
They become reflective and affectionate, chatting about the future of Hyrule, already thinking about the future changes, since they will have to rebuild a place that has been completely destroyed in ruins, to bring back the prosperity of six years ago during the time when Laura and Bernadette ruled all those lands.
A long way from there, on the island of Edo, Louis Blackwell's spy boat docks. He sets foot in the place, observing the very peculiar surroundings. Having learnt the local language, he soon goes round asking people for information about a girl who looks like Akko, which causes a bit of confusion to the point where some of the guards realise it.
"I don't want to hear about Hyllians from Appleton looking for one of ours!" Said one of the men who approached the blond.
"My lord, she's a wanted criminal, all I ask is that you help me, there's a fat reward for finding her, you'll earn five thousand Rupees" Louis said.
"I'd rather be poor than hand over our great heroine to you monsters from Appleton" said the gentleman.
"Do you know what she did to make those accusations, sir?" Blackwell implies some more and soon some Edo guards approach him.
"Are you Hyllian of Appleton who has come to disturb us? Know that you are not welcome in our lands, turn around and go back to the ship that will bring you back, we will make sure that you never return, we will not allow you to persecute our great heroine" said the guard.
"Oh yes, of course, I'm just going to get out of here" said the blond.
(Damn, apparently the girl is seen as a great heroine, but I can try something here, I'll use my metamorphosis spells to become one of them, I'll try to gather more information about the others, since the target is seen as the heroine of this island, so it's quite possible that the others aren't so much, worse I can't even metamorphose into the target girl because I've seen her so little, so it complicates everything, not to mention that there doesn't seem to be any sign of her, but I'll keep looking).
Louis just went out in disguise as a citizen of Edo, walking in an ordinary and unsuspicious way, passing the harbour and going to a house where he is already making a point of renting to start thinking about the various missions he intends to do.
With a map of the whole island, he's already checking out the possible towns and mapping out where he might find the girl and making a note of any suspects he might come across.
(Well, I've already noted that the Hyllians here are hostile towards Appleton, more reason for this place to be invaded, I don't know why the lord is so enchanted by that girl, she barely has a body, she's skinny and she's all weird, these people with their eyes pulled back here don't have the mystical beauty that he says they have, the women of Hyrule are more beautiful, especially those of Appleton and Wedinburgh, that's a real woman, well come on, analyse everything here).
And so Louis began his analysis with the maps present, tracing places that could be hiding places, as well as taking the opportunity to walk around the city afterwards with the maps, to see if he could find any information, without asking questions or arousing suspicion, going disguised as a Hyllian from those lands, already managing to blend in better since it was not only a different place but also more crowded.
The girls have arrived on Triskellion Island, the starting point of their journey through the lands of Hyrule, already deciding what lies ahead in this great adventure and journey that will test the limits of these girls and also their skills as warriors, which could be the great hope of Hyrule, which could be the great chance for all of them to be able to fly far and finally conquer the freedom of all those lands from the tyranny of Lord Andrew Hanbridge.
See you, island witches...