Pieces of Time

Ch 20: The Court

Kali was thrown into icy water, and couldn't resist the gasp at the shock of the temperature. 

Her lungs burned as she inhaled.  She tried to move her limbs but found them bound in chains.  She was sinking fast, and above her, the light of the surface shimmered and became more distant as she inched down, down.  Two more bodies broke the surface, but neither were bound as she was.  They drifted face down at her with unseeing, dead eyes. 

Impa...and Link...

Kali wanted to scream, to fight, but with their corpse eyes on her, she could do neither.  Following them, Kiden drifted down and she thrashed in the chains.  But there were hands on her now, reaching from the depths.  They turned her away from her friends as she fought to keep her eyes on them, not wanting to face what was below. 

It was so much darker, but just light enough for her to recognize the face that was now inches from her.  It was the construction worker that Pallas had murdered..  But now, his eyes were black, empty holes, and his mouth was agape in a silent scream, just as it had been as he withered away.

Kali bolt upright in bed, choking back a shriek.  It took several moments for her to find her rational thoughts, to recognize her surroundings and remember what had happened the day before. 

That's right...She was staying in Hyrule castle now. 

The night before, the boy servant brought her to the same room she'd stayed in last time.  The room decorated with the grace and softness of a summer sky in the dawn with it's light blue walls, golden accents, and swirling cloud-like designs. 

Her eyes found the windows.  It was still dark out, but she could barely make out the peak of color over the horizon. Dawn wasn't far off. 

She flopped back into the fluffy pillows, shivering.  Her skin was drenched with a cold sweat that soaked the sheets as well.  Normally she didn't remember her nightmares that vividly, but apparently, the more horrible things she experienced, the worse they were going to get. 

She steadied her breathing, and found her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she began to hum a familiar tune.  The song of healing.  She had to do this nearly every morning after Link taught her the mysterious song, to help herself deal with the nightmares of being held captive. 

Kali suddenly, selfishly missed him being nearby.  She sighed mid-tune and rose from the bed to start a bath.  She wasn't sure when Zelda intended her to get started but she wasn't about to be reeking of sweat during the training. She perched on the side of the shining white clawfoot tub as she ran the water, less hot than the night before. 

She frowned at the memory, at the shame of servants invading her bathroom and scrubbing her naked body clean.  One older maid actually took a scrub brush to her skin and the others held her down as she did so.  They rubbed her down with ointments, and oils and other substances with questionable smells and came from the bath with her skin raw, pink, and stinging.  Kali tried to insist that she could bath and groom herself, but there had been no point as they seated her at the shiny wooden vanity and drew a brush painfully through the knots of her long, blonde hair. 

Now, at least, she would be able to bathe on her own and have a moment to really consider the consequences of this decision.  She thought of Link, and drew her knees close to her chest and pressed her forehead into them. 

Why had she let him hold her? Touch her cheek? Knowing damn well that it would just confuse her even more - especially now that she wouldn't be allowed to see him for who knew how long.  Link was supposed to be her best friend, but... If she didn't return his feelings, if they were indeed romantic feelings, would their friendship be lost?