The nine girls had already finished assembling the final details of the boat and were soon setting off from Schnee Island towards Edo on a long voyage, this time with a device that would help them cut through the glaciers without damaging the hull of the sailboat so that they could travel peacefully through what little remains of the sea that is still frozen due to the winter, following the ocean voyage inland and arriving at their destination in a few days' time.
But it wasn't just they who were on the move, Appleton's troops were heading for a likely clue to the whereabouts of Akko's escape, since Lord Hanbridge's spying mission in Edo had been a bit of a failure, and
he was discovering a probable clue on Hyllia Island and already marching towards the attack, but he didn't realise that Louis was five days ahead of them.
Blackwell rode as fast as he could through the lands of Hyrule until he reached the sea, where he caught a ferry to Hyllia and docked there after a short journey. He was soon greeted with a somewhat hostile welcome by the island's inhabitants, who came aiming spears and bows at the man, who immediately raised his hands in surrender.
"Please, I didn't come here to do anything bad, I came here to avoid the worst, the lord's elite troops are going to come here and they might be after someone's whereabouts" said the boy, raising his hand.
"Take him prisoner, let's let our leader interrogate him, I don't trust this guy" said one of the soldiers.
"A deserter from Appleton shouldn't be like this, if they discover your treachery you'll be boiled in oil, suffering more than anyone here" said the blond.
"Take him away" said the Appleton deserter.
The boy decides to surrender, knowing his metamorphic abilities, he would easily escape from prison if he wanted to, so he just lets himself be taken by the soldiers who take him to a prison, luckily it doesn't take long and in a few hours the leader of the island Hyllia appears.
She stares at the boy and he stares back at her, both with a look of disgust, but also having to talk about it for a while.
"Honestly, kid, I could have you executed just for your stupid face, but as far as I can tell you're an important member of Appleton, so you can be of great help, I won't torture you and I can even put you down as just a soldier who was captured by us, just tell me what brings you here?" Surely you didn't come here for some stupid reason of just wanting to cause war" said Eleanora.
"Well blondie, your village could be completely destroyed within five days, I received a message from my father, he told me that the lord's troops will come here, I'm warning you before it's too late, in exchange you give me where she went Louis said" showing Akko's portrait.
"I'm not going to tell a guy from Appleton, you've been subjugating our lives for years, don't think I'm just going to stand here and let you humiliate me with your tyranny, what makes me trust that I can pass on information that I don't even know?" Maria White said, already aware of the boy's intentions.
"Look, I wouldn't tell the lord, firstly because I have very clear reasons for doing this, secondly because I'm doing it with Appleton in mind, thirdly because I know that my leader becoming obsessed with chasing this girl will only bring ruin to Appleton, it will only make the people more angry" said Blackwell.
"So here we have a traitor in front of me, I see he's even going so far as to confess his betrayal, so he's really willing to find the girl, but I'm sorry to say, I knew you'd come for her, that's why I made a point of not getting information about where she was likely to go, I'm sorry lad, you've just wasted your time coming here" said the blonde, laughing at the frustrated blonde.
"So here's the deal... Look, I'm being clear with my intentions, I want to find the girl before Andrew himself finds her, so what do you say to the exchange, I've already given you the news that your island could be safe from being invaded in a deadly way and a massacre could happen, in exchange you give me the information about the target's whereabouts" said Appleton's spy while the older woman laughed.
"Oh hahahahaha! I'll let you go in exchange, there's no way I can give you information I don't have, at most you'll know which direction they left by boat from here, so I'll let you go and give you some of Hyllia's clothes, the rest you can do yourself, thanks for your help anyway" said Hyllia's leader, laughing.
Even Louis was relieved to be free, but on the other hand he was frustrated to realise that he couldn't have the exact information on where the girls had simply fled to. He was already getting tense, as Andrew's troops could appear at any moment and cause chaos in Hyllia.
Free, he asked the villagers and the news of Andrew's arrival spread throughout the village, at most passing on the information that the girls had probably travelled north and that was the last time they were seen, while the inhabitants retreated into the forests, already sheltering for the lord's arrival.
(They're actually leaving to hide as they don't have enough boats, some are running away, so I think I can run with them northwards).
- Where are you going?" Louis asks.
- This one will take us to Eire Island, it's the few people who wanted to leave for this island, since the other option is death" said one of Hyllia's residents.
(Eire, maybe the girls' whereabouts are there, it's one of the nearby northern islands, I remember there's a whole legend about it being an island where it never stops getting cloudy and raining, so it's a good chance it's a place they could have escaped to since it's not in Appleton's domain, marvellous).
Blackwell decides to take the boat to the island of Eire, since he doesn't have much choice and it's one of the closest islands to the north, well away from where Appleton's dominions are, while the Hanbridge troops march further and further to reach Hyllia Island.
There was desperation on the island with some people fleeing to other islands, others staying, but hiding in the forest or in shelters that had been improvised, all so that they could stay hidden enough from Andrew's clutches to know what might happen to the place.
Louis was still at sea when Lord Hanbridge arrived with his troops on Hyllia Island. He looked around, noticing that there was a complete silence around him, already feeling strange about something, which could be precisely about preparing for war.
"Well well, they've abandoned everything for an attack... Do they think they can take us by surprise like this? We have enormous power in our hands, there's no point in hiding" said the dark-haired man.
"What are we doing, sir?" asked the general.
"Search everything, everything in the houses, hiding places, people, if you find any belongings, loot them, I want it all to go into the ground and be ours, Hyllia will be a desert island, if you have people, don't kill them, take them to me, I'll interrogate them one by one to find out about the suspect's whereabouts" said Andrew.
With the orders given, Appleton's troops are advancing through the village while the lord simply goes to the leader's house, searching everything, seeing that everything is empty, so he simply sits down at the table where she used to sit and there he sits with his feet on it just waiting for some news.
(She can't run away forever, surely someone told her we'd be here, it's not possible for them to be so prepared, anyway I'm going to make a point of waiting here to see what happens, there's no way this girl can run away all the time, if she thinks she's going to escape, she's wrong, I'm not like the other reincarnations of Ganon, I don't sit around waiting, I go after my trophy, and it's not the princess, it's the hero, without him I can't complete the Triforce and I also have no way of controlling the situation).
And not much was found in the village, apart from a few coins that were used to loot or other personal items, which Appleton's soldiers soon took away, but a few people hid in the cellars of the houses, they were desperate, and were soon taken to the room where the leader was, to be interrogated by the lord.
"All right, you tried to run away from Appleton, you know that's a serious crime, you don't want to die a painful death, do you? I don't imagine so, such beautiful families having to meet their end today, what a shame" said Andrew.
"Please my lord, don't kill us, don't kill us sovereign, be merciful" the various people even bowed and knelt before the leader's table.
"I can spare you all, but only if you give me the information about my target, you need to tell me which direction she's heading" said Hanbridge with a portrait of Akko.
Everyone was looking at each other, sort of remembering the girl's whereabouts, some people remembered the leader's advice that had been given all these days, which they were soon pressurised into speaking, because they felt afraid, after all, sharp spears were being pointed in their faces, which soon led to a sadistic smile going up on Appleton's leader.
"All right, aren't you going to talk? Take the children," said the lord.
"No!" shouts one of the women.
"I don't like insistence, you can execute the children" said the green-eyed boy, which was soon followed by the sound of swords and shouts.
"No! Why so cruel, I was going to say, she went with other girls sailing north, it's been over a month since they left, please don't kill us, please spare the children" said the desperate mother when she saw that her children had been executed.
"Oh sailing north, in which direction specifically?" The lord asks.
"We don't know, our leader made sure we didn't ask the girls anything and she herself made sure we didn't find out for their protection, for Hyrule's protection" said the same mum.
"You can all go, you're excused" said the black-haired man.
Soon the people were being taken out of the room, feeling relieved, some thanking the tyrant for his mercy, which was a big lie, after all, when they were taken outside, all the inhabitants found were executed, and then Andrew himself took a lamp and threw it on the floor, starting a small fire in the house.
"Damn it! She ran away knowing everything! She's always one step ahead, she must have been planning an escape like this behind my back all along, if I have the luxury, she could get the triforce and something bigger, I can't let her get more powerful, it'll be a risk to me" Said the frustrated lord who then left the house.
(I can't underestimate my opponent, it could be a girl, it could be a prisoner of mine for six years who I've always humiliated and shown how weak she is, but it could be that she's waiting for something to happen, I don't doubt anything, things are going to get more and more tense from now on, I'm well aware of the legend and I know that the hero can go after dungeons to get items and with just a piece of the triforce it would already cause damage, with the other things).
When they arrive outside, Appleton's men are meeting with their boss to inform him that there is not a single person in the village, that apparently they have all fled, since everything has been looted and there is nothing left.
"What are we going to do now, my lord?" asks the general.
"Burn everything until there's nothing left, then we'll search the forest, I'm sure there are people there, you'll do it, you come with me and we'll go north, my target with other traitors must have fled north, we'll go there with a large troop, find all the islands" Andrew said.
"Including Eire Island, my lord?" The blond man asks.
"It's just an island like any other, afraid of ghosts? In all the years I've been able to control monsters, a soldier like you is afraid of an island like this? I think it's very unlikely that they're there because they're scared" said Hanbridge.
"It's not for that reason, my lord, but it has a history, we'll have to face the worst there, it's an island outside our domain" said the general.
"General Blackwell, Eire Island is completely deserted now, let's explore the surrounding islands first before we get to this particular island, don't shit your trousers, or I'll explore Eire Island first" said the lord laughing as Blackwell laughed along.
(Louis told me about going there, if the lord finds out about my son's betrayal, both he and I will pay dearly for everything that has happened, I hope he finds this girl soon and kills her, we can't just stand here and wait for the worst to happen, the lord is simply going mad).
And so it was that Appleton's troops spent a few days in the forest trying to find the Hyllia troops, but Andrew made a huge strategic mistake by leaving a much smaller troop to search while a larger one headed north across the ocean due to his obsession with Akko.
What he didn't realise, however, was that while he was out at sea, his troops in Hyllia were feeling the power of the guerrilla warfare in the middle of the Hyllia forest from the remaining inhabitants, managing to corner
Appleton's elite and still surrender a large part of them, suffering few casualties, which was yet another victory for the island.
A long way from there on Eire Island, Louis arrives with the other residents of Hyllia, who quickly realise that the island isn't in a thick fog, even though it's still a bit cloudy due to the winter weather, it's just not the same.
(Eire Island was supposed to be haunted and full of clouds, but it's absolutely normal, that's weird, well anyway I have to find Akko's whereabouts soon, before Andrew finds out everything about the target and comes up with something, let's see if I can find any information).
Trying to find information, Louis simply can't find any people, he just sees the ruins of what was once a city, all abandoned, but as time went by, he soon finds Ural and Marjoirane, and he plays naïve, trying to find the girls like some silly Hyllia resident.
"Oh are you locals?" Louis asks.
"Yes, are you one of the many people who came here by ship?" Ural asks.
"Yes, I was one of the people who ran away, Appleton attacked us, after the marvellous heroine and her friends came home, they will free us from Appleton" Blackwell said pretending.
"Oh come with us, I'd love to get to knowAkko and her eight friends a bit more, she came here in the dungeon and helped bring the brightness and life back to Eire, something we haven't seen for two hundred years, if you want you can settle in here" said the lady.
And so, for a while, the naïve boy passed himself off as a mere resident of Hyllia, deceiving the ladies. For a couple of days this was the case, until he had the opportunity to broach the subject of where Akko had gone with the girls, but he soon ended up with a less than pleasant surprise.
"I'd like to know one thing, where they went afterwards, this journey sounds very interesting" said the blond-haired man.
"We don't know, only that they continued north, further north, I think they're on a long journey, they didn't even speak, but in any case I'm glad to hear that they saved more people" said the lady.
"It's very suspicious that you want to know their whereabouts, are you one of their pursuers by any chance? They told us that there are people from Appleton who want to find them, that they're wanted" Marjoirane's suspicion comes through.
"I'm not, I just wanted to know so that one day I could write down her legendary journey into the history books, our great future queen" said the blond.
"Then don't do it now, it could only end up in the worst way for them, they could be found out because of an idiot like you" said the dark-haired woman.
"Marjoirane, don't be so rude to the boy, he's just very dreamy," said Ural.
With this conversation and a feeling of suspicion, the boy even ends up leaving the house and going to one of the rebuilt houses, already in a makeshift hiding place, where he notes down the routes by which Akko had probably fled, which leads to the conclusion that she may probably have crossed the sea to the north.
(They wouldn't do anything in the north of Hyrule because it's uninhabited, they're probably heading somewhere north, without having to go through Appleton... Hmmm from here I have to wonder where they're probably going, I don't think they'd go to Wedinburgh because it crosses a large portion of Appleton's land, nor the Dublin ranch because it's further south, if they crossed to the other side of the sea, that would put them closer to... Edo? Are they really going to Edo this time? I have to be agile, I can't let myself be carried away by some intuition, I've already found clues, they're in nine, the princesses are with her, apparently the target and Princess Diana have alliances on their fingers, apparently they're ahead of schedule for everything, I have to be quick here).
The young man set about preparing for another departure, already having as much information as he needed, since in a few days Andrew would be docking on Eire Island, where he was currently exploring many deserted islands in search of Akko's whereabouts and causing terror wherever he went.
Mr Blackweel's carrier pigeon arrived and he immediately sent a letter to his son with a very important warning
"In three days the lord will be in Eire, get out of there soon, we don't have much time, I hope you've found the girl, tell me you've already found her my son, I can't stand being here travelling and having to interrogate people all the time, the last searches we didn't even manage to loot, but the lord is very insistent on his goals"
(Unfortunately I haven't got round to it yet dad, things are pretty tense, this way the troops will all end up a bit tired by the end and that could lead to a revolt, who would have thought that in six years our boss would throw away all the conquests he's made for a lousy Hyllian from Edo).
"I haven't found her yet father, unfortunately she escaped, but I was able to find out more details about her, she's on a medium-sized sailing vessel, she must have escaped to the north, she's probably going around Hyrule now to get to Edo more quickly, I can get there before them or on time, or a little later, the important thing is to get there and then kill them, I could see that there are nine of them, just the ones who helped the target escape that day, two of them are princesses, it seems that both princesses are married, I don't doubt that Princess Diana married the target, which is going to annoy our lord a lot, so I'm going to help him by executing the target, anyway father I'm going to Edo, I hope you make it, by the way if you find two girls a lady with a monocle and her daughter, just execute them and try to hide them when you come to Eire, so you won't have any information about them."
As soon as Louis sent the message by carrier pigeon, he prepared his gear and set off in a boat towards a nearby island in Appleton's domain, where he took the opportunity to change on the way and head back to Edo, on a long journey, fleeing from a situation that could have led to a huge problem in this whole chase. Blacwell soon arrived at an island in Appleton's domain, and travelled on to the land of Hyrule, where he got on a horse and travelled as fast as he could across those lands to reach the island of Edo, which was already counting down, in a few days the girls would dock on the island, the boy was still riding through the lands of Hyrule and soon Appleton's troops would also arrive on the island of Eire.
Louis's father was very tense, thinking about his son and whether his plan was working, but after reading the letter he was relieved to see that everything was going well, but he was already waiting to see what would happen, a war was already underway, Appleton's troops set foot in Eire, and everyone was surprised by the lack of clouds, even though it was night.
"That's suspicious, this place was supposed to be extremely cloudy, it's been like this for two hundred years, something happened here" said the general.
"The thing that happened is that the girl stepped here, she must have caused some event in this place that caused the cloudiness to stop, now let's go my men search the whole city and catch all the inhabitants" Andrew said.
And soon all that cleaning up of the place began again, but there wasn't so much, just people hiding around the city, still rebuilding and being surprised by soldiers, which led to shouts and more shouts for help, and the lord himself was following the troops.
The general headed for the specific house where Ural and Marjoirane were, which he was already threatening with his sword, running after the two frightened women, but as he was about to make a cut, something came and held his blow, as if it were magic, and then the lord's voice could be heard and he saw enough.
"Blackwell, I've already told you that we don't have to execute the villagers immediately, I know you're bloodthirsty, but we have to wait" said Hanbridge.
(Damn... He turned up just when I could have acted, all so that I could set them up to commit suicide, but the lord had to follow me all the time, now I hope he doesn't think I've committed treason, or else my lifespan will be very short).
"I'm sorry, sir, I just wanted to intimidate them a lot, you know, show all that brutality, just to put them where they belong, now let's get them out of here" Blackwell said, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.
"Apparently I was wrong, I thought you had the killer instinct and I couldn't resist the urge, but it's a good intimidation technique" said Andrew.
And with the failure to carry out the execution, the interrogation began, with Andrew being very cruel, taking all the information from the people, putting them through the worst before they were executed, which soon reached Ural and Marjoirane, in which they were very forced to give information, but at most they said that
they had fled to the north, which ended up in a moment of breach ending their own lives, before informing them about going elsewhere, even though they didn't know that much.
"So that's it, they're going round to the north, we have to go round too, with a flimsy boat like that they'll get stuck in the glaciers, come on, we have to go north!" Said the lord.
"What now, sir? Are you sure? We don't have that many resources" said the general.
"Yes, we have resources, stop being a slacker, just don't waste time, let's sail north, they can't hide for so long, but first they can set fire to the whole city, and loot the tower" said Hanbridge.
"Sir, we can't get into the tower, there's a magical barrier preventing us" said one of the soldiers.
And then he tries it himself and when he gets to the dungeon and puts his hand on the door, he feels a tingling sensation in his hand followed by a huge shock, as if the place was totally repelling him, which was a huge shock to the point where he was dumbfounded, this had never happened before, he even tried to attack the door, but all his attempts failed.
(This... That's a dungeon... It's not a simple place, now it all makes sense, she came here for one of the many dungeons in Hyrule... She wants to find the Triforce... By Ganon, she knows what she's doing, she's empowering herself undercover, I need to set off north immediately before she gets too far, otherwise I'll end up being defeated for doing nothing, damn Akko, she's clever, but she doesn't stand a chance, one day she'll have to surrender to my power).
"From the looks of it, this is a dungeon, she's not hiding here, if we take too long she'll have a power like that in her hands, it'll be the end of Appleton, so let's go with me by sailing north, be brave men, I guarantee you'll be well rewarded for your courage, we can't waste time or else we'll end up being defeated" said Andrew who was well motivated to continue the search.
"Are you sure, my lord, what if she went somewhere else? We could starve to death in the north, there's no food, no water, no life" said the general.
"Ice is water, water has fish, you have food and water yes, now come on, if you get weak because of this you're a real weakling, you'll just be bait for us to catch more fish, so come soon or be lax and join the fugitives who came to this island, we won't spare anyone, this is a mission of extreme priority, for the preservation of Appleton's supremacy" Hanbridge said pointing to the warship.
Andrew's men didn't have much choice, they had to go north with him, have to deal with the glaciers, in the middle of a winter that was very harsh, the further north they sailed, with very thick ice, he could end up causing an accident.
Louis continued to ride at full speed, already on the mainland again, going as fast as he could to cross over to Edo, where he had visited before, with the suspicion that the girl he so desperately wanted to catch as a target was probably there, a chase going in two directions, with only one side having any idea of where Akko might really be.
On the war ship, Blackwell has already written a letter to his son, to send a clear message about his plan when things get more tense.
"My son, I'm writing this letter more as a farewell, I'm doing it for Appleton, I know he's a big boy, I'm not going to betray him by trying to mutiny against the lord or kill him, but in a few days I'm going to provoke what could be the sinking of the ship and it's likely that I won't come out of this alive, I hope that during your trip to Edo you manage to execute the target girl, as soon as I manage to sink the ship I'll at least manage to make our lord lose a lot of time and have to give up, I hope my sacrifice in a few days will be worth it, goodbye kid, take care, you've grown into a great man, you may not be a great warrior, but the things you've done for Appleton are of more importance, without you we would never have achieved the glory we had today, that's why I say I'm proud of you kid, Goodbye Louis".
The pigeon flies off and Mr Blackwell just stares reflectively out of the window, then he walks through the ship's corridors to where the lord's sitting room is. There, as usual, he's just admiring Akko's portrait, hoping that one day he'll be able to catch her, but he soon notices the general's presence there.
"Oh general, what brings you here with your illustrious presence?" Andrew said.
"My lord, don't you think we're going too far, I just came to ask you about it, and if by any chance we were deceived by the two women, they killed themselves after that" Blackwell said.
"Blackwell, they can lie or not, I know they went north, for the reason that there are places and islands in the north that serve as hiding places, not to mention that they can use the route to dock somewhere that is close to a dungeon, their intention is not to run away from me, It's to go into every dungeon, they want to become powerful and defeat me, I'm not that stupid, my reason for capturing her is that she can just run around free and become powerful to defeat me later, we have to keep her locked up, she's a threat" Hanbridge said.
"So why don't we execute it straight away if it's a threat?" asks the general.
"It's not that simple Blackwell, if I kill her, in a few years' time another hero will be reborn and I'll never know who it is and I could end up doing everything hidden until I kill myself once and for all, that was Ganondorf's biggest mistake in all his reincarnations" said the lord making it clear to the general who then shook his head in agreement.
After this conversation, Mr Blackwell still paid little attention and went on to the soldiers' quarters, thinking only of the plan to sink the ship in a few days' time, so that he could find some way of preventing Andrew from reaching Akko, as he still thought it was a very far-fetched plan.
A chase is on, the clock is ticking, Louis Blackwell is on a mission to find Akko and assassinate her, all to prevent her from getting back into the hands of Lord Andrew Hanbridge, who will then unleash a rampant revolt throughout Hyrule and end up in a civil war, while the nine girls are just going on a long journey across the sea and through Hyrule in the dungeons of the nine witches so that they can have enrome power in their hands.
See you, chase wtiches...