Chapter 40: Within the Crown
Link dragged himself forward, while dirt and pebbles spilled into his hair. His loose Gerudo-style clothes caught on a sharp rock and tore along his side. He took a breath and inhaled so much dust he burst into a fit of coughs.
This is a terrible idea.
The rocks pinned him down, so he could not even look behind him. Even if he wished to leave, he couldn't spin around. He'd have to push himself backwards through the narrow passage, unable to see the knifelike stones he'd avoided on the way in. No, forward was the only real path. Inch by painful inch, he dragged himself onward. Grunting from exertion, drenched in sweat and covered in filth.
His hand reached out and found open air. Finally! Grabbing at the edge of the hole, he shoved himself forward with all his strength. The top of his head broke free of its confines, then his nose and mouth. He gasped for air, but if anything, it tasted all the fouler in hear. Hot, painful for his lungs, reeking of smoke and charred flesh. But he pressed on, until his body came free, and he flopped onto the ground with a wet sweaty splatter. He rubbed the dirt from his eyes, and when he opened them, he nearly screamed.
The light he had followed, the beacon that led him into the Crown was no candle or torch. It was clothes, burning on the charred body of the Goron that once wore them. He scrambled away from the blackened body twisted in the pains of death, only to put his hand in a wet and sticky pool. He raised his hand to see the red smeared across it. It was coming from underneath the rubble.
An arm, by the Goddesses an arm stuck out from the rubble, the blood dripping along the fingers and pooling with the rest of it leaking out of the stones.
Link rose to his feet and backed away from the corpses until his back hit the remains of a wall. Everywhere he looked he found death. Some of the corpses held weapons in their hands or had shields dropped at their sides, but most had nothing. Many wore impractical headdresses and now tattered robes. Others clutched brooms or chisels. It had not mattered, all of them were gone.
Some face up, staring blank with unseeing eyes at the ceiling or the wall, or even Link. Mouths hanging open as if they all wanted to scream some dire warning. But their voices were missing. Others lay face down, some burned, crushed, or split apart. And somehow that was even worse.
These were all Gorons he had never met before, they had been in the Crown the entire fight. But now, looking at their backs he could not help but think that if he rolled one over he'd see Yadunby's face, or his friend Brodni, the one that asked him to play his ocarina. Or even their chief Darunia. They could be anyone. They could have lived long and fulfilling lives. They should have. It wasn't fair.
How could anyone find this glorious?
A roar echoed through the tattered halls, followed by a crash almost as loud. The monster still lived. A loud clang rang followed by the thunder of the Goron's bombs which shook the mountainside. The monster roared again. There were others, people still fighting that thing.
I need to help them. I'm sorry, I couldn't help all of you. I tried. I truly tried.
The sounds of battle led Link through the twisting rooms of the Crown. Though, he could have found his way there were he deaf. King Dodongo left a trail of blood and destruction in his wake. Wide rooms, once beautiful, filled with statues of mighty Gorons, fine-crafted jewelry with gems larger than Link's fist, and gleaming weapons set with crystals that glowed with some magic Link had never seen, all torn to ruin.
At the height of its splendor, it would have taken Link's breath away. Now all of them overturned or destroyed. Some with bodies below them, as the brave made a final attempt to save relics that must have been important to them. Their sacrifice demanding Link run faster still, so no one else would perish.
An explosion sounded below him followed by a shout of rage. Was that Darunia? He was still alive! Link ran into a room where an entire wall had been toppled over. As if the monster or the bombs had burst through it and shattered the floor.
As Link jumped over the cracks he glanced down. A bright red and orange river of magma swirled far beneath him. It was hot. So so hot. Steam rose from Link just as he walked over it. He felt faint and he had not even reached the battle yet.
He needed water.
And yet he continued climbing and running and jumping throughout the destroyed temple. He did not stop until he reached its very base. A room closed off by a massive door of steel and stone, almost as large as the gate that King Dodongo destroyed to enter the Crown. This one too, torn from its hinges and burst open by the beast.
The room inside was a wide cavern, it could have fit dozens of monsters the size of King Dodongo with room to spare. Along the walls stood statues of stone that reached the ceiling. Gorons of mighty physique each with weapons or tools and even one with a book in his hand. Around them lay overturned treasures of gold and silver, stone necklaces and charms etched with Goron symbols and inset with jewels. Any one piece would have astonished all who saw it, and all together they would have made one of the most splendid places in all the world.
But now their beauty was shattered, overcome by the massive shape at the furthest wall. The Lord of Lizards stood beneath the largest statue of them all, a Goron that looked much like Darunia, with even wilder hair that spread across his face like a lion's mane. One foot raised, stepping on a serpentine figure. In one hand it held a giant stone hammer that looked like Darunia's favored weapon, only many times larger. The other hand open, palm toward the ceiling as though it held something too small to clearly see.
Only when the Dodongo snorted a puff of fire from its nostrils did the light gleam off the red ruby resting on the statue's palm.
"I said back!" came a deep and gravelly voice. A boulder rolled past, but it did not move like other stones. It sped along the ground, maneuvering around obstacles until it found a ramp of toppled debris and launched itself into the air. Then the stone unfurled revealing Darunia, a bomb in one hand and his hammer in the other. He threw the bomb, it exploded when it struck the beast's thick hide. But it only made the monster flinch. Then with a mighty shout, Darunia smashed the hammer down with all his great strength.
The monster collapsed from the blow. Its jaw struck the ground and its limbs thrashed. As it got its feet back beneath it roared and spun about. Its tail whipped at Darunia, far faster than the chief could avoid. It struck him in the gut and launched him across the room, smashing into the stones and fallen treasures.
"Darunia!" Link ran to the Goron's side and grabbed his arm and pulled. But the chief would not rise from the bed of golden idols and gems all crumpled and turned to rubble beneath his weight. "Darunia, get up!"
The old Goron, blinked at him a few times then shook his head. "The young… Link?"
"Yes, come on. Get up!"
"What are you-? Hmmph."
King Dodongo did not pay them any attention, its eyes returned to the statue and the stone. It curled itself up, then jumped into the air snapping its massive jaws shut as it found the stone arm of the statue. The rocks cracked but held, even with the Dodongo vast bulk pulling upon it. Fire flashed around the Dodongo's mouth, and poured out of its throat. Blazing around the arm with a flame so hot the stone itself started to melt.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Volvagia's Stone, the Heart of the Mountain," Darunia said. "And that beast desecrates my family's legacy to reach it." The chief pressed his massive hammer into the ground and pushed himself to his feet. "But so long as I hold the hammer of my forefathers I will not yield."
"Wait!" Link called but it was too late. Darunia already chased off after the beast. It was brave, but it would have been better if there was a plan.
Is this how Navi always felt?
Link ran after him, the stone arm of the statue drooped with the creature still latched onto it. Only its tail still touched the ground. And that was where Darunia struck.
"Release it!" He shouted and smashed his hammer down.
The Dodongo roared, it's jaws releasing from the arm. Crashing to the ground, stones split where it fell releasing a gasp of steam from the fissures. Link had to cover his eyes as the wave of heat struck him. As he breathed, he felt his throat grow dry. How long could he even last in this place?
"Die beast!" Darunia shouted. When Link pried his eyes open, the chief was swinging his hammer wild. King Dodongo stepped back and hissed, letting the weapon fly past his snout. Then it lashed with its claws only for Darunia to bat them aside.
The two looked evenly matched. Two titans of nigh impenetrable skin and insurmountable strength, throwing everything that had at the other. Blow after blow, some landed true some missed. But neither could gain any advantage. As soon as one landed a hit that would crush Link, the other met it with a blow even worse.
That was it. Link could never stand up against either of them, but he could tip the scales in Darunia's favor. If he distracted the monster at the right moment, maybe that would give Darunia the chance he needed.
Link pulled out his slingshot and took aim. The first pebble flew right where he wanted it. Straight into King Dodongo's ribs, any human would have a broken a few or at least have the wind knocked out of them.
The monster did not notice.
Link released three more striking his target in the spine, on the snout, even getting the last on the corner of the beast's eye. That had worked with the spider. But none of them did anything.
Link growled as he tucked the slingshot back into its pouch. Well, if that wasn't working what else was there?
On the other side of the hall, where Darunia had started the fight, lay a small pile of bombs, only four. But one look at glowing cracks on the ground made Link think better about using those. Visions of the earth opening and swallowing him into a blazing pit ran through his mind.
Best avoid the bombs.
He unsheathed his sword and charged. "Hiyyaaaah!" he screamed at the top of his burning lungs as he slammed his sword into the monster's tail with all his might. "Hyup! Hyiah! Haahh!" He slashed and hacked at the tail. Pushing the point into the scales with all his might. Making as much noise so the monster would take notice.
But it didn't do anything. His sword clanked against the hardened scales of the Dodongo as if it were solid rock. The tail whipped about, but not in pain. It lashed out toward Darunia, forcing Link to duck as it thrashed above his head.
Darunia swung his hammer toward the beast's snout. King Dodongo squirmed back, the hammer struck the ground and the ground quaked. The Goron chief never seemed to tire or waver or slow. Only the monsters claws and fiery breath hindered him. With each spout of flame, Darunia was forced to step back while the beast advanced.
Link gave one last thrust of his sword, hoping it might catch between the scales. But it fared no better than the last half dozen strikes. He needed something bigger, stronger. Along the walls, scattered among the overturned displays there lay weapons; mauls, maces, hammers, and even a gargantuan sword as big as the one wielded by Ganondorf. He ran to the nearest of them, a spear but instead of a spearhead it looked to have an entire sword. The whole thing from tip to backspike made of solid steel.
Sheathing his sword and swinging his shield over his back he took hold of the spear with both hands. "Euuuuugh," he pulled with all his might. He barely got the spear upright before it slipped from his sweaty hands and thumped against the ground.
Too heavy, he'd never be able to wield it. The same was true for the hammer and the sword he tested. Didn't these Gorons have any weapons for an eleven year old Hylian?
"Fine," Link said through gritted teeth, as the words left his mouth and turned to steam before him. It was a risk, but one he would have to take.
He ran back to the other side of the room and found the pile of bombs. They were still heavy, but he could carry one at a time. Perhaps lob them a good ten feet or so and maybe it could roll a bit further.
That would have to do.
He took the first one and returned to the battle. Thankfully there was no dearth of fires to light the wick. All about the Dodongo flames sputtered on cloth and wooden frames that once held treasures, now caught alight.
Link pressed the thin wick of the bomb into one, hoisted the black pot onto his shoulder and threw it as hard as he could. It crashed onto the Dodongo's tail. The pot shattered and for the briefest moment Link saw black dust spill around the shattered casing and rise into the air. Then it flashed a brilliant white light.
The force of it sent Link tumbling backward and landed hard on the stones. His hand fell back trying to catch himself, his fingers slipped over the cracks on the ground.
"Gah!" he pulled his hand away. The heat radiating from the fissure blistered his fingertips.
King Dodongo howled in pain; his tail blackened from the explosion. As it whirled around to glare at Link, Darunia landed two heavy strikes on the side of its head.
"Good work, goro! Another young hero! Another!"
The Dodongo snarled and spewed flame at the Goron to create some distance between them.
"I can do that." Link pushed himself off the ground and sprinted back to the pile of bombs. This time he threw it as hard as he could at the side of King Dodongo's head, but instead of watching his throw he turned and dashed away, jumping over the rubble and fissures. Not stopping until the wave of the blast passed him without harm. When he turned back Darunia jumped atop the massive scarred head of his enemy and smashed his hammer down. Each strike rang loud, the scales of the mighty beast already charred from the bomb split before the onslaught.
"It's working," Link ran to the next bomb. A crash and a roar came from behind him.
"Look out!" Darunia shouted, as Link lit the next bomb.
The monster barreled toward him, somehow having gotten past Darunia. Where was the chief? All Link could see were massive jaws, filled with teeth, open wide and ready to tear him apart. A fire that burned as hot as magma resting down the monster's throat.
Link threw the bomb as fast as he could, but King Dodongo knocked it aside with his snout. The pot spun through the air and smashed into the base of the statue of Darunia's ancestor.
That was it. There was no way that Link could move to get the next bomb in time. He couldn't unsheathe his sword, not that it would do any good against the monster anyway.
There was no way for him to get out of the way.
It was over.
He wished to rage! To scream and hack away at the monster. If he could do nothing else, he could at least meet his end with courage. With one final assault to show that he was a warrior to the end.
But there was something else, a small feeling, but it nagged at him. He'd had it since Navi, when he sat alone on the grass where she left him. Or had it been earlier? When he chose to leave Kokiri Forest with no plan, no hope of making it through the fog. Or when father died, and he avoided his friends to be miserable in his home. Perhaps it had always been with him, hissing in his ear since Mido's first insult.
Perhaps he should just shut his eyes, and let it end?
Who could expect him to do more? He'd given it all he had, but he had no great powers, he wasn't smart, he tried to be kind, but Saria was always kinder.
He had tried his best and it had not been good enough. Just like it hadn't been good enough when he fought Ganondorf. Just as it had not been good enough when he tried to save the Great Deku Tree. He failed.
Accept it. Let go.
And yet he twisted his shoulders and swung his shield around. His foot fell back in the warrior's stance Bethmasse drilled into him every day. Even at the end. Even as an eternal failure, even though it wouldn't count for anything. His body still moved for the fight.
The jaws clamped shut. Link felt his arm pull up as the monster reared. But he was alive. He was breathing.
The Deku Shield shattered against the lizard's teeth and Link's arm fell back down. The monster's front legs pushed against the ground, its head thrashed and chomped at the air. But it did not get any closer to Link. Instead it tore the shield to pieces, splinters of wood flew about it.
"Move!" Came the strained voice from behind the monster. "Run! Can't hold-"
Link bolted away from the monster, scooping up the last of the bombs as he ran. His shield, the Great Deku Tree's last gift, was ruined. Everything below the handle was gone, except for a few jagged strips of wood. It would do him no good. He dropped it.
As he did, the monster lurched forward. Smashing face first into the back wall. The wall cracked and the ground shook as the Dodongo sprawled about and righted itself. Now revealed, Chief Darunia stood panting, his hammer on the ground a few steps behind him. His feet embedded into the torn stone. Had he held the monster back himself? "You're safe," he muttered through deep exhausted breaths. "Couldn't. See."
"You saved me."
The rumbling cracking of stone grinding against itself filled the room. Link spun around as the statue of Darunia's ancestor, now with a massive hole at the base where the bomb exploded, twisted and collapsed. The legs disappeared into a cloud of dust as the massive body ground itself down, where the pieces hit the ground, the tiles buckled, and fissures grew. Steam rose as the dust fell. Link dived to the ground as a stone from the statue's leg soared over his head and smashed behind him.
"No," Darunia whispered.
The statue crumbled to its waist, before what remained toppled over. Darunia dived away as a falling stone arm crashed where he had stood. The earth around them split open.
And Darunia's hammer slid into the crack.
Darunia shouted, running toward it. Almost reaching it as the still rippling land closed around the weapon, sealing it away.
King Dodongo roared. The monster angling toward the rubble. Darunia cried out in loss and rage. But through the dust and flame, the red of the Ruby gleamed, now in reach on the floor. Everyone charged toward the stone.
Darunia reached it first. But as his fingers wrapped around the treasure, the Dodongo's head smashed into his back and sent him tumbling forward. Darunia dashed against the stones of the fallen statue, the Ruby slipped from his grasp, and the monster reached for it. Its tongue slithered from its mouth, stretching toward the Heart of the Mountain.
Link pulled his sword free and hacked at the beast's tongue. The monster reared, Link scurried back, just before its massive bulk slammed down on top of him. King Dodongo did not relent, it lashed out with its claws, giving time for Darunia to roll back and scoop up the Ruby. In rage the Dodongo smashed into the Goron, as the two struck each other with fist and claw.
But as mighty as Chief Darunia was, without his hammer King Dodongo did not fear the assault. He let three of the chief's blows hit him just to strike once with his own. And of the two, King Dodongo came out ahead of each exchange.
Link needed to help. But how? He had nothing that truly hurt the beast. Even stabbing the monster's tongue only stung it.
Now what?
Darunia twisted and curled up with the Ruby. Exposed his back to King Dodongo, and the lizard slammed forward, pinning the Goron against the rubble.
Red and orange flame filled the monster's mouth and poured out over Darunia. The Goron screamed, and tried to protect the Ruby with his body.
He needed to do something! Link ran toward the pair holding onto the only weapon he had left.
The monster reared back as it took a deep breath, revealing Darunia's smoking and blackened back. The chief did not move, but the ruby was still clutched to his stomach, protected as best he could.
The monster's opened maw glowed as he prepared the next bout of flame.
"Get away!" Link screamed, with all his strength he threw the last bomb into the flaming pit of the King Dodongo's mouth.
The creature's jaws slammed shut as the bomb struck the back of its throat.
Even muffled within the monster, the explosion still was loud enough to hurt Link's ears. King Dodongo's neck expanded to twice its regular width, but its hardened scales held firm. Locked in place in their new bulbous and twisted shape. When it opened its mouth again, first came black smoke and the foul smell of the bomb, then blood dribbled from its jaws.
And its eyes. For the first time Link thought he saw true fear in a lizard's eyes. They fixed onto Link, almost begging for him to do something. To help him in some way. It couldn't breathe, its mouth hung upon, unable to close again, revealing mess of pulverized bone and torn flesh. Some of it slipped through the useless jaws and splattered against the ground.
The beast lifted one quivering front leg. It reached out.
The leg fell to the ground. The rest of him followed.
King Dodongo was dead.
Link panted, shook his head a little to try and bring some cool air to his face, but there was nothing but heat left in the Crown.
"Darunia," Link staggered beside him. The chief did not move, his back looked half melted. He withstood the full force of the flames, was he even still alive?
He reached out to the Goron, but pulled his hand back immediately. He was still hot, almost smoldering. "Darunia, please, it's all over. Please be-"
Slowly, the stony arm and back unfurled. Darunia's breath was slow and heavy. "You did it?" every word strained.
"I couldn't have without you. It was your bombs. You saved the Ruby."
"I failed," he rose, but stood stooped. Too wounded to reach his full height. He looked down on his hands, one empty, the other palming a ruby half-encased in gold.
"What are you talking about? We won."
From his hands the Goron looked over the destruction all around. "My ancestor's hammer is gone, I watched as it fell into fires and was swallowed beneath the ground. My ancestor, the forebearer of my line and people. He slew a dragon and saved all the Gorons of the mountain. I could not defeat one lizard." He looked at the destruction that surrounded them. Glancing over ancient treasures and holy relics. The ruin of the once beautiful room, and the dead that met their end because of the monster's rampage. "Look at all I lost. How can I face my people? How can I remain chief when I am proved so much weaker than my ancestor?"
Link did not wish to look. He had seen far too much death on the way down. "That's… That's stupid!"
"What?"
"So what if someone did it better? Your ancestor wasn't here when we fought, and you weren't there when he won. Maybe he had an army at his back. Maybe he got lucky. It doesn't matter. You faced a fire breathing monster and you saved the Ruby. You listened when no one else would. You're a hero. I don't know your ancestors, maybe they were mean people. But I know my father, and if they are anything like him they would be proud that you tried. When everything seemed lost, you still tried."
"The hammer…"
"We won without it. If it's important to you, try and uncover it. Or make a new one." But he was not certain how much of that he believed. His own shield was gone. The Great Deku Tree's last gift to him and he'd lost it. The only thing he had left from home was his Ocarina.
Darunia frowned, squinted his eyes at Link before he squatted down so they were almost at eye level. Could he tell that Link didn't believe what he was saying? Would he just get angry? "You are very wise, young hero."
That made Link pause. No one had ever told him that before. He didn't know how to respond really. His mouth flapped open a few times before he settled on a simple "Thanks."
"Now, what to do with the Heart of the Mountain?" Darunia held up the Ruby.
"Oh! Ganondorf is going to take it!"
"What?"
"When you were separated from your army, Ganondorf got your advisors to agree to give him the Ruby should he fight to rescue you."
"Hrrmmph," Darunia glared back at the fallen Dodongo. "Rescue me did he?"
"We need to hide it."
"And what of you?" Darunia said. "The Crown is destroyed. When the Gerudo break through, they will find you, and they will find the stone. Neither of you should be here when that happens. Can you get out?"
"I think so. I was able to get in."
Darunia held the Ruby with both hands, gentle as if the stone would shatter if he looked at it too hard. "There is a story told in my family. My father told me. His father told him. All the way down to the first chief of the Gorons. When he slew the dragon Volvagia, the great beast spoke to him. It drew the Heart of the Mountain from his very body and told him that he must keep the stone safe. That one day, when all of Greater Hyrule would be on the verge of destruction this jewel would be needed to save it." He sighed, found a tattered cloth and wrapped the stone inside then held the package out to Link. "Young hero, I must pass this burden to you. Protect it as best you can. And perhaps, you are the hero who will save us from that doom."
Link took the Ruby, it was bigger than the Emerald, heavier too. Though perhaps that was because there was more gold attached to it. "I will keep it safe. I promise."
Link crawled out of the hole in the rubble and pulled the bag out behind him. Both flopped to the ground. Panting, Link looked about, making certain no one saw him beneath the starlight. Only some equipment lay nearby, long metal rods and shovels, the Goron engineers must plan on excavating at first light.
He leaned his head against the rocks and spread his limbs wide. Letting the night air surround him, so much colder than within the Crown. His mouth hung open as he swallowed the cold air in deep coughing fits. When he looked up, he saw steam rising off him.
He needed something to drink, or to jump into the snow that he knew lay somewhere down the mountain.
But he had no time for pleasures. Hugging the ornate Goron sack to his chest, he felt the Ruby hidden within. He needed to leave, as fast as he could. Hopefully be down the mountain before Ganondorf opened the Crown. But there was something he needed to do first.
He put his hand on the wall to push himself off and felt something shift and clatter to the ground.
A spear.
Bethmasse's spear, right where he laid it.
He picked it up and frowned. Then headed toward the camp. Passing over the field of the dead. Though, he found mostly Lizalfos remained. In the dark he found no bodies of Goron or Gerudo, and the equipment had been picked clean.
Thankfully, the encampment proved easy to find. Campfires speckled the mountainside, visible miles away against the bleakness of the rest of the mountain. And around the flickering lights he saw the shapes of people dancing, and he could hear them singing. When he entered the camp, he stood a moment, dumbfounded. Soldiers of Gerudo and Goron feasted together, played together, danced, and drank, and sang together.
"We won!" one of the servants that Link had seen handling the horses came up to him. Grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed. "We won! Haha!"
"Yes," Link said as he slipped out of her arms. "Yes, well done."
She laughed as she went to a Goron that lay slumped against a wagon and said the same. Everyone was like that, everywhere he looked. Even the celebrations in Castle Town had been nothing like this. As if all the tension everyone held within them, wondering if they would survive the last few days fueled the fires and dancing.
He didn't even have to hide as he walked among them. No one noticed him, except to apologize for bumping into him as they drunkenly lurched about. He maneuvered around as best he could, and headed toward the first of the tents he needed to visit.
"Squire!" came a sharp voice from one of the massive bonfires.
Link froze, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Slowly he turned to see Bethmasse stomping toward him, a fresh cut along her forehead and halfway down her nose. Shallow, already starting to scab over, but it made her glare look all the more vicious.
"Where have you been?" she snapped, and she held out her hand.
"I- I-" Link realized she was gesturing toward her spear. "Oh." He said as he handed it to her.
"You cannot have been at 'oh.'"
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry, I was trying to return your spear to you."
"Took you long enough. I called for it in the battle and you were not there. You left me with only the sword at my hip and a mace. Neither well suited to face the Lizalfos spears."
"You jumped on a Dodongo! I couldn't follow you! I tried. I really tried. But then a Lizalfos-"
"You tried? How little good that does me. I needed you, voe. And you failed me. Twice."
"I'm sorry, Commander Bethmasse. I- I wanted to help, but-"
A wicked laughter stopped him. It was hard to tell with the flickering lights of the fires but she was smiling. "I kid, voe. I kid. Battle is chaos. I am glad you are well. I was worried."
"I tried to find your axe that I dropped but I-"
"I recovered it after the battle. You are a good voe." She patted his head and ruffled his hair a bit, then frowned. "But hot. Fall too close to a fire?"
"Something like that."
"Go, you have done your duties. Enjoy the night, we always celebrate after a successful battle. Find a nice young vai to dance with."
"Thank you, Commander."
"And squire. No training tomorrow morning. Sleep in. Understood?"
"Yes, commander. I will. And Commander... and Bethe?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you. For everything."
She laughed and shooed him away, before rejoining the rest of the Gerudo, grabbing a wineskin from one of her companions and guzzled it down. He frowned. They were the enemy, they always had been. But he would miss them. They took him in when he had no one. They fed him, more than that, they treated him like he was one of their own. Please figure out you're serving an evil master. Please.
But even as he thought it he knew there was little chance of it. The rest of his wandering through the encampment he only wished that he had not seen her at all. He could have dropped her spear in front of the tent and left. It would have been so much easier.
He found the tent he left his ocarina, and opened the tentflap. When he stuck his head inside he heard someone's breathing. Had someone else found the unused tent? He paused, waiting for whoever was inside to say something, but the quiet steady breathing continued unabated.
Were they asleep? They must be the only ones in the whole camp, who could sleep with all this noise.
He stepped all the way inside, and squinted into the darkness. Someone definitely slept in the middle of the room, he could make out their shape tucked beneath a couple blankets. They must have taken a few more from those who would no longer need them to keep warm. A girl by the shape of her, and one not much taller than he.
Not wishing to disturb the girl, he crept around behind her to get to his things.
Was this the one who originally owned this tent? It was good they survived the battle, but he hoped they did not dump his things away when they discovered them. He squinted down on her and smiled. It was Rosa, with new bandages around her head and arms, but otherwise the same as when he left her.
She clutched something while she slept, a piece of cloth that he had mistaken for an additional blanket. It was green. His tunic. She had finally fixed his tunic!
His grin went wider still. "Thank you, Rosa." He whispered soft enough not to wake her as he gently pried it from her hands. His thumb gliding across her fine stitch-work. "I hope you find your way home."