CHAPTER SEVEN
Era had no clue what to do. He moved forward following Kage, wishing that what he’d just seen had been a dream. He’d known saving the world would involve some deaths, but he hadn’t thought…He shook his head, sadness beginning to sink in. I’ll never be able to save the world if I’m this squeamish.
He gazed at Kage’s billowing cloak, the movement of his shoulders as he walked. He was stronger than Era. Why shouldn’t he be the one to save the world? Surely it would make more sense…
He ran a hand through his golden hair, eyes barely looking ahead of him as he thought. Speaking of which, he wasn’t entirely sure where they were going.
“Kage,” he said softly as he looked at the man’s dark purple head. “Where are we going? What should I do?”
Kage glanced back at him, not stopping. “We’re going to the Temple of Time. If we’re going to do any saving whatsoever you’re going to need the blade of evil’s bane.”
Era was quiet as he thought this over. “But I don’t know how to use a sword,” he said. He knew he must sound whiney and childish but he was truly afraid.
“I’m going to teach you,” Kage said.
Once they reached the door of the castle, Kage poked his head into a nearby room and pulled out a dark blue cloak. “Here,” he said, throwing it at Era, who caught it with a little surprise, “it’s a little cold this time of year.”
With that they moved out the door, Kage’s hand on the strange flute on his belt and Era messing with the cloak as he tried to get it to fasten. They walked back through the hills towards the marketplace, Kage nodding every once in a while at a guard he knew. Era wondered how important his job was, what he did. What exactly was an Ocarina Commander? It must be of some importance, he thought, as he watched him wave to yet another guard.
Finally they reached the marketplace, Kage drawing his hood over his head and Era doing the same. They walked up the huge steps of the temple, boots resounding on the marble. As they walked inside, the very air around them seemed to change, to become more sacred and intense.
Era spotted three shiny jewels on a pedestal as he passed. There was a large, golden insignia embellished on the temple’s floor, in the shape of three triangles. Kage stepped forward onto it and unfastened the flute from his belt, pressing it lightly to his lips. He played a beautiful tune, music that made emotions well up inside of Era. Now I understand.
The great wall in front of them moved sideways, causing the building around them to tremor as it grinded against the grey floor. It revealed a new room, one with steps that led to a single pedestal on a platform with a sword incased in it. There were wall hangings draped around large stain-glass windows and giant statues holding giant blades, their crystal gaze glaring down upon them as if with scorn. Era shuddered, not wanting to put one foot inside that room.
“Go on,” Kage urged, pushing Era’s shoulder lightly. He nodded with a little reluctance and began his ascent, shivering a little from pure excitement and fear. He hadn’t really noticed how small he was until he was compared to everything giant around him in that room. 5’3” was definitely not enormous.
He stepped up to the pedestal, hesitating in front of it. What am I supposed to do, just take it? But it looks like it’s encased in there pretty deep… He shrugged to himself and stretched his small hands out towards it, grasping the handle. Then he gave a tug of the most strength he could muster as he struggled to pull it from its casing.
It came out surprisingly easily and he fell backwards with it. It was almost as big as he was. Kage walked over, suppressing his laughter with a palm over his mouth. Era almost glared at him but knew he was the only person who could offer him help. His brief anger faded as Kage put out his hand to help him up. Era grabbed Kage’s hand and pushed himself off the floor as Kage pulled him up, his own hand still wrapped tightly around the sword’s hilt. He had no idea how he was supposed to hold it, so he just stood there looking awkward.
It was truly a magnificent blade, Era noticed. Kage was looking at it with what looked like lust. Era wouldn’t have been surprised if a trickle of drool slid down his face. He suppressed his own laughter as he regained his balance. He then stepped a little away from Kage, giving the sword a swing for good measure. Which promptly threw him off balance again. He landed with a thud face down at the bottom of the steps, the sword clanging nearby as it hit the floor.
Kage was full-out laughing now, unable to suppress it any longer, Era supposed. He managed a frown as he pushed himself up again, ignoring Kage’s outstretched hand. “Wow, himawari, I’m not sure I will be able to train you,” Kage said between laughs. “Now come on,” he said a little more seriously. “We’ve got to ask around the market for any possible strange sightings. Unfortunately, the guards at the castle aren’t very observant.”
Era walked forward without a word, a little unsure of how to walk with the sword. He was struggling with it when Kage reached over and took it from his grasp, sheathing it in a hidden case under his cloak. “I’ll hold onto that for now,” he said, reattaching the flute to his belt. As they walked back through the temple to its entrance, Era felt like asking a few questions.
“What’s that flute-thing, anyway,” he asked, looking back over his shoulder at Kage. “I’ve never seen one before, and I’ve definitely not seen an instrument that can make walls move. Is it like a remote control or something?” Kage looked at him a little quizzically, as if he didn’t quite grasp all of what Era had said. He answered after a second though, in his familiar deep and smooth voice.
“It’s called an Ocarina. It’s meant for controlling time as well as some other elements. The hero Link used it originally, but Princess Zelda thought to give me lessons in the previous period of peace.”
Era wasn’t really sure he completely understood but he nodded anyway as they reached the marketplace. “Where should we ask first?” Era asked, remembering the guard the night before that had been kind enough to offer him a place to stay. “Well, um, we could ask the owner of the mask shop,” he added quietly, answering his own question.
“That’s a plan,” Kage said agreeably, walking in the direction of the shop. As they reached its little front door Era saw a message posted on it, reading “Tricksters welcome, Robbers take heed; The mask will hide your face but not your greed.”
Era pondered over this as they entered the shop and a little bell sounded above. A very strange-looking man (or was it a woman?) appeared behind the desk seconds later. He (she?) smiled, eyes glinting with the possibility of a customer.
“Sorry to disappoint you,…sir,” Kage said a little hesitantly, “but we’re not here for any masks.” The man’s grin faded and he pulled off what Era realized was a mask, eyes now gazing upon them with impatience.
“Well, what is it?” He asked, his voice a little squeaky.
“We were wondering if you’ve seen anything a bit…odd lately,” Kage asked reasonably. Era mused that the shop owner himself was a bit odd.
“Hmmm,” he said, his voice a drone as he thought it over. “Hmmmm. Well, why don’t you ask a mask?” Era looked at the shopkeeper with raised eyebrows. Kage seemed to be trying hard not to sock him in the nose. “Here,” the shop owner said, placing a mask in Era’s hands. “Try it.” Era glanced sideways at Kage, who shrugged, before pulling on the mask. It was what looked like a giant eye.
The world seemed to get darker, focusing on one spot. Era turned blindly towards it, searching for the light. It led to the statue of the same eye. He could see it in the distance, just beyond the door…The shopkeeper grabbed his shoulder before he’d gotten past the doorway.
“Now, you’ll have to sign a contract for that,” he said, and Era nodded, eager to try out his new finding. Kage looked at him questioningly but didn’t argue, just placed a single red ruby-thing in Era’s hand as he was digging in his clothes for the jewels he’d found earlier in the moat. He realized he’d left them in his other clothes’ pocket just as he felt the roundness of the jewel in his hand. He had wanted to pay for it himself, as he started to explain, but Kage just shook his head, a faint smile twitching at his lips.
“It’s nothing.” The jewel was in Era’s hand for about five seconds before the shopkeeper swiped it.
“Ah, yes, this will do…Now sign here, boy.” He handed Era a piece of paper, who was reminded of something his grandma had once told him. “Always read between the lines before signing a contract.” He proceeded to do so but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so he signed and handed the paper back to the shopkeeper. It had said something about lending and selling, which the shop owner proceeded to explain.
“After you’ve finished with a mask you sell it and bring the money back here. You can keep the profit and use the mask as much as you want, but you must pay for it.” Era nodded, that sounded reasonable enough. He supposed that was what the sign on the door had been about.
As they left the shop, Kage turned towards him, demanding an explanation. “Well…I put it on, and all of a sudden I could see the statue of an eye. It was calling me…I dunno, I just got the feeling that it could answer some of our questions.” Kage looked a little bewildered but nodded, proceeding to grab Era’s arm and yank him back in the direction of the Temple of Time.
“What are you doing?” Era asked as he was led towards the steps.
“Look,” Kage said, pointing to a row of statues. Era hadn’t noticed them before. They were all in the shape of an eye. He nodded, walking over to one of them and pulling on the mask. He stared into its eye and it seemed to glow. Then he saw a vision, of a masked man running towards the castle. He saw the stealing of Kage’s sword and the slaying of Zelda’s father reenacted, and he shivered, tempted to rip the mask from his face. But he felt Kage’s hand on his shoulder and it reassured him somehow. So he kept watching, as the man fled the castle and rode across the plains on…Digit!! Era exclaimed silently but was quieted as the next scene unfolded, the picture of a great beautiful valley. He saw the masked rider flee into a village near a waterfall and then the vision ended.
He pulled the mask off his face, sweating and gasping for air as if he had just ridden on Digit with the masked rider. Kage put his other hand on Era’s shoulder, staring directly into Era’s blue eyes with his piercingly green ones. “What did you see?” He demanded, and Era shook his head.
“I’m not sure I can explain…”
Kage didn’t look satisfied and waited with an anticipatory look on his face for Era to continue. “Well, I saw everything the man did—he was wearing a mask though—and he fled with my horse!! Um, into some sort of valley.” He hoped he’d been helpful and Kage looked satisfied, so he sighed with relief.
Then he began shaking, as if very cold. Blood and thicker things splattered across his vision as he saw the blade cut into the innocent form of Zelda’s father, their family cat struck with it as well to quiet its incessant hissing. He sank to his knees, arms drawn tight around himself. “How am I ever supposed to save anything? I can’t even bare the sight of a little blood…” His voice shook with fear and disgust and Kage stood there, not sure what he should do. Then he knelt down beside him, putting one arm around him comfortingly.
“Don’t worry, if all goes well you won’t have to see anymore. And I’ll help you.” Era looked up into Kage’s eyes, mesmerized for a second, before he quieted down and stopped shaking. He sat there, unwilling to move from Kage’s slight embrace. Afraid to face the upcoming dangers. “Don’t worry,” Kage continued. “I’ll go through everything with you.”
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Zelda’s eyes widened suddenly and she looked up at Tsuban, who was still comforting her. “Oh no, I forgot…” Tsuban looked at her curiously, waiting for her to finish. “You must take the Windwaker to Era! Go, Prince Tsuban!”
Tsuban nodded and flew to the courtyard, grabbing up the wand. Zelda yelled from the window, “Take Rimhi with you.” The little fairy appeared out of the bushes and flew over to Tsuban. Tsuban nodded at it and flew swiftly out of the castle towards the marketplace.
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Kage was walking through the marketplace with Era when Tsuban came crashing into one of the stalls. He stood up, bowing and apologizing to the owner, who was holding up an apple as a weapon. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, helping the owner pick up all the fruit and vegetables.
Kage watched Era walk over to Tsuban, helping as well. What a goody-goody, he thought, but walked over to stand beside them. “What’s happened, Prince Tsuban?” He asked politely, if a little irritated.
“Oh, um,” he started, standing and brushing off his clothes. “Princess…I mean, Queen Zelda told me to give this to Era,” he finished, pulling the Windwaker out of his bag and handing it to Era. Kage’s eyes widened but he stayed quiet, watching Era’s reaction.
He just took it and blinked at it. “Um…what’s this thing?”
Kage mentally smacked himself on the forehead. Tsuban grinned. “Wow, you really don’t know…It’s called a Windwaker.”
“Eh? ‘Windwaker?’ What’s it do?”
“Well, it allows you control over the wind,” Tsuban said, still amused at Era’s little knowledge.
“Oh, I see…” Era said, still gazing at the thing with a confused look on his face. His brows furrowed together over his blue eyes.
“Don’t think about it too much,” Tsuban said. “You won’t need it right away anyway.”
Era then noticed the fairy from earlier swirling about behind Tsuban’s back. “Did Queen Zelda give you that too?” He asked, looking at it with interest.
“Hmm? Yeah. She sent it with me. I suppose she wanted you to have it as well.”
The fairy circled around Tsuban’s head angrily and rammed into it. “My name isn’t ‘it’, thank you very much!”
Era’s eyes widened. “It…I mean, the fairie can talk?”
“Guess so,” Tsuban said, rubbing his blue head.
“Just call me Rimhi, dunce,” the fairie grunted at Era. “Not ‘fairie’. Don’t know about you, but I’m not gay.”
Era frowned at Rimhi’s joke and wondered why in the world Zelda had thought he would be of any help to them whatsoever.
Kage almost laughed but remembered his intense fascination with Era the previous night. “Ahem,” he said softly, hands in his pockets, “Shouldn’t we be leaving now? To find the murderer?”
“Ah, right, I’m sorry Commander Kage,” Era said quietly, eyes looking at the ground.
Tsuban nodded. “Yes, well, my job’s done here, I suppose…I’ll be returning home now. Come see the Ritos if you ever need anything, okay?” With that he took flight, beating his wings against the cool morning air.
Kage sighed. “Well then…” He glanced at the white Windwaker, “I suppose we should be off now…”
Rimhi swirled around Era before landing decidedly on his shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go, people. Can’t wait here all day.”
They quickly reached the outskirts of town and finally the drawbridge, which was open for the day. Era felt a pang of regret as he thought of how scared Digit must have been, waiting outside the entrance in the cold darkness. He hoped he was okay…
Kage unhooked the flute from his belt once again and pressed it softly to his lips. Era listened as he played a fast, pretty melody with much skill. Then a horse came running, black as darkness itself, except for pure white hooves, looking as if they were dipped in snow. She nuzzled Kage, who returned the gesture by smoothing a hand down her mane.
The saddle on her back had the Hyrulian emblem, and there was a satchel attached to it for storage. Kage silently took the Windwaker out of Era’s grasp, fingers barely brushing his own, and stuffed it in the bag. Rimhi fluttered over to rest on the horse’s neck, causing her to snort with irritation. The little fairie just chuckled.
Era walked over to stand beside Kage, not sure what to do as he would obviously get on his own horse first. Kage did so, swinging a leg over the mare’s back, boots tight in the saddle. Era expertly climbed on behind him but a little unsure as to what he should hold on to. Finally he wrapped his arms around Kage’s waist, sort of in a backwards hug. Kage’s body heat spilled off him in waves, brushing down Era’s body. It was comforting to have someone to hold on to. Then they were off, swiftly across the fields in a black blur of motion.
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Kage jumped inwardly when Era put his arms around him. He could feel Era’s body pressed to his back as they rode across the fields, tightly so he wouldn’t fall off. He concentrated on the landscape before him, trying desperately for his mind not to wander.
As they reached Garudo Valley, the place Era had described in his vision, Kage’s horse, Dark Melody, skidded to a halt. The scenery here was beautiful; waterfalls cascaded in a blur of color (as blue as Era’s eyes) down to a vast river, which poured farther down into Lake Hylia. A bridge was suspended above the valley, just barely providing protection from falling to the rocks. As they got closer Kage noticed just how little support the bridge gave. It was split in two, a gap wider than any horse could jump spread out in a void beneath it. Era’s arms seemed to get tighter around him as they neared the edge of the cliff. Is he afraid of heights?
He urged Dark Melody to stop as he glanced over his shoulder at Era. His blue eyes were full of such fear, but as they locked onto Kage’s green ones the fear quieted as it was replaced with trust. Kage winced. He’d never had someone stare at him with such raw emotion before.
He climbed down off Melody’s back and held out a hand to help Era down as well. Once they were both on the ground he explained how this was going to work. “We’re going to have to cross that gap, himawari.” Era’s eyes were screaming, “I’m so afraid!” but he just nodded in agreement.
“Yes, yes we are.”
Kage was about to put a comforting hand on Era’s shoulder when Rimhi landed there. “Well, let’s get on with this, shall we?” He looked nothing more than a little ball of green light with golden wings but Kage knew that when the light faded it would reveal the tiny form of a man. And he felt a pang of envy.
Era was still looking quite frightened, but he clenched his fists at his sides and straightened up. “Yes, let’s get this over with.” Kage nodded, walking over to his bag and pulling out the Windwaker and then a small, grey object.
“This is called a hookshot,” he explained, holding it out for Era to look at it. It was what looked like a metal arrow with a chain attached to it. “It works like this.” He stretched out his right arm and pointed at a high tree branch in a nearby cedar and pressed a button. The hook shot out and latched into the tree branch, pulling Kage with it. He looked down at them with triumph from the limb before jumped skillfully down back to the ground.
Era was looking kind of pale. Oh, boy…Kage thought, wondering how they were going to get through this one. Then, before he could really think about it, he ran over to Era and wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist, shooting the hookshot at the other side of the void. They shot to the other side before Era could think and hung from the chain. Kage could feel Era’s breath coming short and fast as the boy clung to him for dear life. He almost liked the idea that Era needed him. It made him feel stronger somehow. But then he was angry at himself for being happy about Era’s fear.
He wondered for a second how he’d come from hating to wanting to protect the boy in such a short time. He supposed it must be part of his destiny, however cheesy it sounded. Era was forcing his eyes onto Kage’s, not daring to look downward. Kage could see the intense fear in them again and shook off the feeling of strength. He needed to pull Era up onto the cliff. “Hold on, himawari,” he said, and began pulling them up the chain. Era was shivering; Kage could feel his fear through their clothes.
Finally he swung a leg over the edge of the cliff, rolling onto the solid, grassy earth with Era still clinging onto his body. He wound up with Era beneath him, eyes closed in fear. His hands were out by his sides to keep him from collapsing on the boy. Without moving, he reached a hand out and touched Era’s cheek. “Era, Era, it’s all right. I’m sorry; I had no idea you were so afraid of heights.”
Era opened his eyes to look at Kage, not moving either. The blue orbs were so full of relief and then pain as he remembered something. “In my freshman year of high school, my friends got in a fight with some of my classmates and won. Later, for revenge, they came after me and tied me up. They took me to the roof, and they…” He gulped, eyes looking away from Kage as he remembered. “They…did stuff…and almost pushed me off. My friend saved me, but…Ever since then I’ve been really afraid of heights.”
Kage was silent; he just ran a hand through Era’s hair soothingly. “I didn’t say I would go through everything with you just to hear my own voice, you know.” Era nodded, but then his expression went blank.
“Um, Kage…”
Kage was then very aware that he was on top of Era and quickly moved off him, blushing slightly. He was such a klutz sometimes. Era stood up as well and Rimhi flew over, bobbing back and forth between them with disapproval.
“This is no time for rolling around on the grass, you two! We must capture the murderer!” Era nodded, if a little too vigorously, and brushed off his clothes.
“Yes, well, um, I think I remember that he went this way…” He said, and began walking away. Kage stood there for a second before following him. He was a little embarrassed by the day’s events.
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Era was struggling with his mind. What’s wrong with you? Getting so worked up over a little accident. You freak. You should be focusing on saving Hyrule, not having angst-filled romances. Era glared inwardly at his subconscious. Who said anything about a romance, you sicko. He was vaguely aware that Kage was burning a hole in his back with his eyes. He probably hates me now…I’m such a coward…
After crossing the gap in the rock, Era had somehow known where to go without thinking about it. Kage had left his horse, obviously, so it was slow getting there. But finally they reached the Gerudo Valley hideouts. Era shook his boots, which were now filled with sand. He had no idea how that had happened.
His vision had pointed somewhere in one of these hideouts. Near the top. He looked up, expecting to see stairs or a ladder or something, but there was nothing but building upon building stacked on top of each other and one entrance. He shrugged and walked to the entrance, Kage trailing behind him and Rimhi burrowing a makeshift nest in his golden hair.
Inside were a lot of boxes and barrels and not much else. But he hadn’t walked five feet before he saw a woman—with a scythe. His eyes widened before Kage tackled him to the ground. The scythe sliced the air where his neck would have been. He didn’t have time to catch his breath, however, as Kage rolled with him out of the way. The scythe hit the ground where he’d been and stuck in the wood. The woman ripped it out of the floor and chunks of the wood flew about before she came at them again.
This time Kage was ready, the sword from the sheath on his back already drawn and in front of his kneeled form. Era was behind him looking like a deer caught in the headlights. The scythe clanged against Kage’s sword. He then stood up completely and began properly fighting the woman. They seemed to be somewhat evenly matched, as neither was getting a cut in edgewise. Era watched with absolute interest. He’d have to do this eventually, anyway, and he guessed watching now would help his training later.
Then the woman got a strike in. Kage’s right shoulder burst in a firework of blood, his face contorting in pain. He dropped the sword and collapsed to his knees. Era didn’t think about it, just rushed in and grabbed up the weapon in his left hand. He held it awkwardly out in front of him, like a shield more than anything else. He was trying to protect Kage, but it wasn’t really working. The woman looked a little surprised but then began fighting like before as Era tried desperately to block her strikes. She smiled, as if toying with him. And she probably was.
Then Rimhi flew in unexpectedly at her face. She shrieked from frustration as the little fairie tried to block her vision. While Rimhi had her distracted, Era was finally able to get a strike in. He slashed her chest, which erupted in blood and then flame and then she was gone in a puff of smoke.
“Genkaku ka…” Kage whispered behind Era, then winced in pain, clutching his shoulder. Era turned and quickly rushed to his side, kneeling in front of him.
“Da…daijoubu!?” Era asked, then covered his mouth with his hand, eyes wide with surprise. Kage’s expression mirrored his own.
“Hairurugo wo hanasu?”
“What?”
“I asked if you speak Hyrulian,” Kage said in a mild tone of disbelief.
“I…I don’t think so…I don’t know what came over me…” Era said, his own voice confused. “I can’t normally. But maybe being here has affected me somehow…”
“Right…” Kage said, still a little baffled. “Well, to answer your question, un, I’m fine. It’s just a little blood…” It seemed to take Era a few seconds to realize what he was talking about.
“Oh, right, your shoulder! Are you sure it’s fine?” He moved as if to touch it but stopped at the last second, glancing at Kage’s face for approval.
“Ee, go ahead.”
Era nodded and helped pull off Kage’s cloak. Kage winced as Era did so but stayed quiet. Then Era proceeded to pull Kage’s shirt off halfway, revealing the right side of his torso. His chest was covered slightly with the blood from his shoulder. Era touched the smooth muscle of it, gently moving his fingers along the line of blood and tracing the outline of the wound. Kage shivered.
“It’s pretty deep,” Era said softly, eyes full of concern. Kage nodded and winced again.
“Yeah, I can’t feel my arm.”
Era looked at him, scared. “What? But you said you were okay…This…” He shook his head. “It’s my fault. For not knowing how to do anything. I can’t even defend myself. I’m nothing but a burden…”
“That’s not true…” Kage said, sighing softly. “Well, you are sort of a nuisance, but we need you to fulfill this prophecy thing. So don’t back out now.” He half-smiled and Era frowned.
“Well, okay, but…” He brushed his fingers in the palm of Kage’s hand. “You can’t feel anything?” Kage nodded, a bit disappointed, he admitted to himself.
“Nope, not a thing…”
Era began to get flustered. He ran both hands up and down Kage’s arm, feeling the muscle of it. But Kage shook his head, feeling a blush creep up his face. “Nothing.” Era sighed, and felt like crying, but he didn’t. He had to be strong for Zelda. “Well, we’d better get moving or more will come,” Kage said, standing up.
Era stood swiftly with him. “Wait, I’ve got to bandage that for you…You’re losing a lot of blood.” Kage frowned but didn’t move. He watched with interest as Era removed his own shirt. His torso was small and so…perfect. Kage shook these thoughts out of his mind.
Era ripped the sleeves off the shirt and wrapped them around Kage’s wound, using his teeth to tighten the hold. “Hn, maybe that’s not enough to soak the blood,” he said, and started to tie the rest of his shirt around the wound. But Kage put a hand up and stopped him.
“No, take your shirt; you’ll need it if…the weather gets bad…” He’d never admit the real reason was because he was having trouble focusing on anything but Era when he had his shirt off. I’m turning into a freak, he thought, and almost smiled. But it was quickly wiped away when he thought of how much Era reminded him of his brother. Yes, that must be it; he’s just so much like Yuukuro…
Era stared at him questioningly but pulled his now-sleeveless shirt back on without another word of protest. Then Kage straightened his own shirt and pulled on his cloak and they were off again, through the fortress.
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Haneko was completely and utterly lost. She’d flown far but had eventually completely lost track of where she was going. Her wings ached and she desperately needed a bath. She glanced around at her unfamiliar surroundings, a rocky mountain trail that hopefully wouldn’t fill with lava anytime soon. She vaguely remembered someone telling her the Gorgons lived here. Whatever they were. She just needed a place to sleep. She rested her head on her feathery arms, sighing with frustration. Oh, how I wish Tsuban was here…He’d show me the way…
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Oritoso groaned loudly when his brother flew into the room. He’s back already? Or is he just slacking off? He glared at Tsuban when he went running to the Chieftain. “Father! Something’s happened!” Yeah, something horrible, I bet. “The King of New Hyrule has been murdered!” Oritoso’s eyes widened. Well. That is bad.
~END CHAPTER SEVEN~
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Rimhi grumbled softly in Era’s hair as he passed under a hanging rope. The little fairie had fallen asleep. Era was sort of tired himself, even though he supposed it was probably not even late afternoon yet. But murderous women with scythes tend to take a lot out of you.
Kage was walking in front of him and Era could tell he was trying his best not to look pained. Era winced as he glimpsed his shoulder again. The blood was beginning to soak through the cloth.
“Commander Kage, don’t you think we should find someone to tend to your wound before we go any farther?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“What?”
“Commander. It’s annoying.”
“Oh, sorry. What should I call you?”
“Kage. It is my name, after all.”
“Right. Kage. Well anyway, don’t you think—“
“No, if we stop now we’ll lose track of the murderer.”
“But with my mask I can find him again…I’m sure of it,” Era said, flicking the mask tied around the back of his neck.
“Well maybe, but…I can last a little longer. And I don’t think you should use that mask too much. Unless you’re tired. In which case, we can stop. I don’t want you to overexert yourself, himawari.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well then let’s keep moving. Don’t worry; I’m used to this sort of thing.”
Era nodded a little reluctantly but they continued onward. Once they reached the top of one section of the fortress, Kage searched around for a window or door leading out. There was a window, and through it Era could see that they were close to a cliff. “Um…I think the murderer went through the desert.”
“Yeah? Well, let’s hookshot onto that cliff edge there then.”
Era’s eyes widened but he agreed. “Okay…”
Kage felt a little bad about making him use it again what with his fear but he’d have to get used to it eventually anyway. He opened the window and glanced around. They hadn’t seen any other attackers since they’d gotten rid of the woman, and it was no exception here. Kage pulled the hookshot out and grabbed Era by the middle and they were off.
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“Murdered, you say,” the Chieftain said inquiringly.
“Yes! He was killed in cold blood in his sleep!” Tsuban exclaimed, hands pulled tight into fists. “Only the guards are with…Queen Zelda now. There’s no one to really protect her. You’ve got to send forces to help—“
”Don’t tell the Chieftain what or what not to do,” Oritoso said with a hiss. He was tired of being ordered around by his immature brother.
“No, Oritoso, he’s right,” Chieftain Komali said.
Oritoso gave him a harsh look before crossing his arms and leaning back against a pillar. “…sure...”
“Now, Tsuban, we mustn’t send out forces right away. It would only attract attention to ourselves.” He put a hand up when Tsuban started to argue. “Listen, Tsuban. We don’t want the whole world to know about this right now. It will only cause more trouble for Queen Zelda in the end. If this murderer finds out that we’re on his trail he will inevitably retaliate, probably with forces of his own, and we need time to make plans.” Oritoso smirked until Komali smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I’ll send a few of the stronger Ritos out to guard Queen Zelda. Just not the entire army.”
“Thank you, father,” Tsuban said, bowing.
After this Tsuban and Oritoso left the throne room and walked over to the Hall of the Sky Gates. Tsuban was planning to fly through one of the giant skylights and return to New Hyrule Castle.
“Tsuban,” Oritoso said, as Tsuban tied his bag tighter around him and got ready for flight, “Aren’t you missing someone?”
Tsuban turned, a look of questioning on his face. “What?”
“Haneko wanted to see you.”
Tsuban’s face immediately lit up at the mention of her name. “Really?” He blushed at his own enthusiasm. “I mean…where is she?”
Oritoso smiled. “That’s the thing. She went after you and never came back.”
Tsuban’s cheerfulness abruptly deflated. “She…” He glared at his brother’s obvious joy in this. Then he spread his wings and cast one last angry look back at his brother before soaring through the skylight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haneko sighed, hope slowly but steadily waning. It was getting dark and she needed to find shelter. Wolves and Ritos didn’t mix too well. With one last look at the darkening sky she walked into the cave where the Gorgons were supposed to live, hoping they were friendly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once on the cliff, Kage jumped down from the tree they had latched onto, gently setting Era down beside him. He saw the boy let out a visible breath as he leaned back against the tree.
“Are you alive?” Kage asked jokingly, staring down at Era with his humorous emerald eyes. “If so, let’s get down from here and head to that desert.” Era looked up and smiled weakly for a moment before seeming to gather himself up, determination now spread across his features.
“I’m fine,” he said brightly, casting Kage another shaky smile. “It’s you I’m worried about…swinging around like that with your injured arm…” Kage chuckled and stuck the hookshot into his pocket.
“If you say so,” he said, then motioned past the tree to the pathway leading down the hill. “If we head down this way we should get there pretty quickly, as long as we don’t run into anybody…” But as he said this he noticed there were quite a few ‘anybodies’ in various places on the ground below.
“Damn, I wish I had Dark Melody,” he mumbled, and started off in the direction he’d pointed. “Training: Part One,” he said jokingly as Era followed him.
As they made their way down the hill, Kage searched his mind for any clues about this masked rider. He’d obviously gotten past the guards fairly easily, as they hadn’t even noticed anything was wrong until Kage had told them that morning. Either this person was very stealthy or he had some sort of connection. For all Kage knew, he could’ve been a guard himself.
With a sigh he pulled out his Ocarina as they reached the bottom of the hill, hidden by a stack of boxes. “Let’s get rid of this awful silence, shall we?” he said with a smile at Era.
Era blinked, wondering why Kage would use the Ocarina as it might give away their position. But the next thing he knew he was hearing the sharp end of the melody and seeing many guards strewn unconscious across the grounds.
“What…what did you play? I…missed it,” Era said, a little flustered. Kage just smiled knowingly and walked out from behind the crates, motioning for Era to follow.
“Just a little something I picked up recently,” he said vaguely. “Now let’s find that thief b*****d!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haneko strode nervously into the cave, sandals clicking against the stone in small puffs of dusty smoke as she traveled farther in. The echo of her own footsteps was an eerie sound that put her on edge, glancing around and over her shoulder as she made her way down a long, spiraling, stone staircase.
She had just taken a step down the last stair when she heard a thundering boom on the floor beneath her. She flew a little ways, to a small platform in the center of the large room, and peered downward. It seemed to be a creature rolled up in a ball, rolling into things aimlessly as it traveled around in a circle.
She raised an eyebrow, adjusting her harp on her back as she flew down. She landed beside the creature, right as it stumbled dazed away from the wall after one of its crashes.
“Hello,” she said friendlily, holding out her hand. “I’m Haneko. It’s nice to meet you. I was wondering if you could let me stay here for a little while…”
The Gorgon rubbed its head, the words seeming to be a little too much for it to understand. “You’ll hafta talk to the chief fer that,” he said, and immediately began rolling again.
Haneko sighed, folding her arms as she watched the Gorgon roll around. Finally she spread her wings again and soared downwards to the first floor, where there were torches lighting a closed doorway with a large doormat in front of it, the symbol of the Triforce embellished in it. She knocked on the door nervously, hoping beyond hope that this was not another dead end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damn you, Oritoso, damn you! Tsuban thought angrily, searching the air around him in vain. How will I ever find her now? She’s probably lost, all because she went looking for me…
Soon he was too tired to beat his wings any longer and landed gently on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk as he thought. The direction Haneko had gone had been towards Hyrule Castle, which would mean she would pass over several other places along the way. Haneko couldn’t have flown very far…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Era looked to the left and then the right, feeling quite like a spy in one of those movies except for the incessant buzzing of Rimhi in his left ear and the bladed weapons rather than guns. He wondered for a moment if Kage would know what a gun was. The man skidded to a stop in front of him, causing Era, lost in daydreams, to run right into him. Kage didn’t budge, however, and Era regained his balance.
“Horse hooves,” he whispered to Era, pointing at the ground. There were indeed horse hooves implanted there in the sand, proving that the vision had been real. Era would have smiled if he hadn’t known that this meant he would eventually be meeting the masked rider. No, he’d rather have pretended he hadn’t seen the hooves, and run away safely…
But now, now he was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to avenge Zelda’s father, get back his horse and Kage’s sword, and lock that thief up. Now, if only he wanted to go into the desert with nothing but a ripped shirt and pants. He realized randomly that he had been wearing green before Kage gave him this particular outfit, although his was a much nicer shade of green…
He felt someone staring at him and looked up to see Kage’s emerald eyes peering down at him.
“Are we going or not?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his eyes despite everything.
Era gave a small ‘hmph’ and straightened up, walking exaggeratedly past Kage and in the direction the hoof-prints were headed, his blue eyes narrowed.
“Roger,” he said, giving a small salute.
Rimhi snorted loudly in his ear and Kage just stood there with one raised eyebrow. “Right,” he said, and began walking, catching up to Era. “Well, this would be much faster on horse,” he said with a sigh, tapping his boots in the sand.
“Or a car,” Era put in, getting another raised eyebrow.
“Or a dragon,” Rimhi added, half-asleep.
Kage shook his head and sighed. “Well, we haven’t got any of that so we might as well hurry,” he said, and began walking faster. Era nodded, boots crunching the sand as he ran a little ways ahead, never so far that he was out of Kage’s sight. Soon the buildings faded into the background and there was nothing but sand, sand, more sand, and oh, look, a rock. Era started to get tired, sweat drenching his body as he walked, his steps feeling increasingly heavy. He was breathing rather hard as well, but he was trying to mask it with a straight back. It wasn’t working too well, however, as he kept having to force his back straight again as he walked onward. He longed for something other than sand, anything at all, he didn’t care, just not sand. Or a rock.
Kage walked slowly, watching Era carefully as they went. The first sign of overexertion and he was going to…
Era tripped. Slip, splat, right onto his face. As he sighed and pushed himself off the ground, he cursed whatever law it was that always made him land on his face.
Kage hurried over, suppressing a laugh, though this was the sign he’d been watching for. “Need some help there?” he asked as Era struggled to stand up. He seemed unable to move. Just too damn tired.
“I suppose,” Era said quietly, drawing a doodle in the sand with his index finger. Kage laughed and reached out a hand. Era took it, using it to steady himself as Kage carefully pulled him up. His legs felt like Jell-O (or limp noodles, depending on which simile you prefer) and he kept blinking repeatedly for some reason. Plus the front of his shirt and his golden hair were all sandy now. He blinked up at Kage for a moment before letting go of his hand and forcing his legs to move forward.
Crunch crunch. Crunch crunch. Crunch crunch. Crunch cr…
He suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground, and looked around to see that it was Kage doing so. The taller man moved him so that he was sort of giving him a piggy-back ride, his good hand on the back of Era’s legs to keep him there.
“Here, watching you struggle makes me tired,” Kage said, turning his head to look at him. “I’ll carry you for a little while.”
Era blinked and nodded. He didn’t care as long as it wasn’t bridal-style. That’d be a little too weird. Though he was amazed at how strong Kage was, to carry him with one arm…
Then suddenly Kage took off running, his cloak flowing out behind him, surprising Era into wrapping his arms around the man’s neck. He probably would have fallen off anyway if he hadn’t, as Kage’s arm was bound to get tired.
“What are you doing, you shouldn’t even be carrying me and now you’re running…you’re going to hurt your arm even more…”
“Shut up,” Kage said, and Era did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A red-faced Gorgon man greeted Haneko, frowning at her like she wasn’t the package he wanted. Excuse me, sir, please take this back, this isn’t what I ordered… He stood there, staring at her unblinkingly as if waiting for her to say something, to state her business.
“Um, erm, I was wondering,” she said, not sure how to speak as this was a king of a different culture. She immediately curtsied, quickly and awkwardly, auburn hair sliding over one shoulder, and looked up at the Gorgon again.
“Well, I’m Haneko, of the Rito tribe,” she said, staring at the Gorgon’s chin rather than his eyes. “I was out looking for someone and I got a bit lost…” She gulped as the Gorgon continued to stare unblinkingly at her. “And I was wondering…if I could stay here for a little while. At least until morning.”
The Gorgon looked thoroughly unimpressed, scratching his chin. He was still staring at her, but she realized then that it wasn’t exactly her he was staring at; rather, it was her harp.
“Oh, do you like music?” she asked quickly, lifting the harp from her back.
“Yes,” the Gorgon said, finally. “Play me a song I like and I’ll let you stay,” he said, voice deep and gravely, quite like his home.
“O-okay,” Haneko said, summoning up her strength. She took a deep breath, positioning her fingers on the harp as she visualized the music sheet she’d played from earlier that morning. The melody began, flowing from her brain to the tips of her fingers and through the harp and out her lips.
Golden sun oh so bright today
Glowing, shine for me, show me the way
My heart’s a labyrinth enveloped in darkness
The sun is overpowered as I long for your kiss
Golden sun oh so bright today
How much I miss you I cannot say
Your eyes are the hole in my being
All-powerful and all-seeing
Please oh please understand
Without you I cannot meet my soul’s demand
Death shines bright, oh so close now
I want to love another but I don’t know how
Your arms are my safe-haven
My dreams are your home
This darkness that I now bathe in
Won’t let the sun show
Golden sun oh so bright today
Is this a dream? Then in it for eternity my heart shall lay…
It was about half-way through it that the Gorgon started dancing; in spite of it being a sad song it had a rather jovial, up-and-down tune. It was irony, she knew. That was how she had composed it to sound.
”Can I stay?” she asked quietly, after her song had finished and she’d taken a deep breath.
“Of course,” the Gorgon said. There’s a room you may stay in on the second floor, next to the first staircase…”
Haneko nodded, smiling. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed before spreading her wings wide as she ran out of the room and flapped her way up to the second floor. She longed so much for a bed, and now she was going to have it…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tsuban coughed loudly, covering his beak with one winged arm as he landed a little unsteadily on a tree growing out of the cliff side. There was smoke coming from an opening in the cliff as well as from the high mountaintop, but he could tell the first smoke was manmade. It smelled as if something was cooking, fish, maybe.
After finally getting himself to stop coughing he jumped off the limb and glided over to the larger opening, face full in the smoke now. He held his breath and dived into the hole, careful not to land on the fire below as he did a sort of tumbling motion, landing instead on something moving.
“Waaaagh!” he exclaimed, falling over backward in his attempt to get away from whatever he’d landed on. He blinked and realized there were several Gorgons staring at him from their places around the fire.
Tsuban sighed. He’d gone this way, because he’d had a distinct feeling this was the way Haneko had gone, but so far he’d had no leads…
The Gorgons were whispering something about “another winged one,” and “beaks.” Tsuban looked up, blinking his grey eyes a few more times.
“Was…another one like me here?”
A Gorgon nodded. “Yes, but she left this morning. She had wings like you and a beak and long auburn hair.” Tsuban stood up quickly, startling the Gorgons, and clenched a fist.
“Do you know which way she went? Or where she was headed?”
The Gorgons just shook their heads, their great rocky bodies hunched over. “She just said she had to look for someone…that was all.”
Tsuban chewed his tongue with frustration. “Fine. Thank you,” he said, and took off once again through the great smoky window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kage sighed, sitting down on a flat stone and gently removing Era from his back. The boy had fallen asleep. His grip around Kage’s neck had loosened, and Kage had been forced to stop walking or else drop Era. He lay the boy down beside him, removing his cloak from around his shoulders and spreading it out over Era. The desert got very cold at night, and Kage didn’t want him to freeze. Though, he supposed, he might freeze himself, and then who was to protect Era?
Finally he compromised, lying down beside Era and pulling the cloak so that it lay over both of them. He could just see the top of the boy’s golden head under the cloak. He pushed it down a bit and smoothed Era’s hair away from his face. He couldn’t have him suffocating, either.
Kage sighed and rolled over so that his back was touching Era’s side. He lay like this for a while, shadow-black hair falling over his face, causing lines to appear on the landscape as he stared through his hair. He blinked. He couldn’t sleep like this. Hell, he just couldn’t sleep. He felt like they were near that masked-guy, but they hadn’t seen him yet for some reason. He found that a little odd, and it made him apprehensive and on edge.
Finally, after what felt like hours of staring into the darkness, the beginnings of sleep began to take hold of him…
BANG!
Kage’s eyes shot open and he sat up abruptly, searching the area with those emeralds. He pushed the cloak off himself so that it lay completely over Era. Hopefully no one would see the boy, if he did that…
It was still dark out. Kage prayed Era would stay asleep, though that didn’t seem likely with the loud noises coming from his western side. Another shot sounded, and Kage, not knowing what it was, following, Ocarina in hand. There was the masked man, a few feet away from him. He had an odd object in his hands, long and slender with a small opening at one end. He was aiming it at a figure in the sky. Kage looked up and blinked. It looked like a Rito, but Tsuban had left quite a while ago to go home…and this one had long, auburn hair.
A shot rang out again, and it narrowly missed the Rito’s right wing, sending a few feathers flying as it went past. Kage cursed, putting the Ocarina to his lips. There was no hiding in a desert, and anyway, he wouldn’t just leave someone so obviously defenseless to die.
The tune was loud and harsh, like the scraping of rock on bone; a song of requiem. He couldn’t use both hands so he had to make the sound with only his mouth, giving it one loud, piercing note after the other.
The masked figure writhed, dropping the gun, struggling to place his hands over his ears. Finally he stopped moving and fell unconscious into the sand. Kage ran over to the Rito, who had collapsed as well, probably from fatigue, and managed to rest her on one of his big shoulders.
He walked back over to Era, one eye squeezed shut from the pressure, and suddenly felt an immense pain erupt in his back. The last thing he saw was Era stir under the cloak and then everything went black.
~END CHAPTER EIGHT~
