Second Hand of the Chosen Hero

Chapter Seven

Tya couldn't tell whether or not it was a humble charm or pure awkwardness that prompted Link to stutter out "S-Sorry I kept you waiting so-so long?" at the old woman's words. Tya also couldn't tell if she was right in the assumption that this was an old woman, and she kind of felt guilty for that. There was a femininity to her voice and that was all that she could go off of. Was it rude to ask?

That was very far from the current topic, so she elected to abandon it entirely.

Impatience roiled in Tya's core as the woman, instead of giving them any information, continued on with small talk. She had chuckled initially at hearing Link's response. Something so soft and unnoticeable that Tya barely heard it. She had said after "It has been my duty to wait here for you, so I may guide you in the journey to come."

Tya shifted, squeezing the fabric of her sailcloth lightly. Again, this sounded like a book. Was she positive that she wasn't dreaming something up? The aching of her torn palms said she wasn't.

"What is your name?" She asked him finally, to which Link replied, his voice light and kind. If Tya was going to be honest, he fit the type of person you could find as a hero in a story. Especially since he'd so effortlessly leapt to his possible death just to save his best friend.

"Link," the old woman repeated, nodding her head. She then turned to face Tya, who didn't notice at first, until the woman asked "and yours?"

She glanced at Link, wide-eyed, somewhat concerned about having been noticed. He made a motion for her to answer and she complied, albeit hesitantly. "Tya."

Again, the woman repeated the name and nodded, then turned to move back to the spot she'd been sitting in when they'd first arrived. "Young woman," she shifted her red cloak to fully tent herself now that she sat. "You should not be here."

"So I've gathered," Tya pursed her lips. "But alas."

"Alas," the woman made a motion outward, a smirk present on her lips before she turned to Link again. "It seems many things here are amiss. The Spirit Maiden; the one you search for, Zelda. She was indeed destined to return here, but the way in which she has done so, was not as it should be. I fear there is something else at play here, attempting to stop the gears of fate from turning as they were meant."

"So you know where she is, then?" Tya asked, to which the woman nodded. Her movements were slow and trained. Even despite her age, there was a fluidity to her that only played into the odd aura about her...

"Indeed I do," she answered. "She has set out into these woods, the Faron Woods, to discover what it is fate has in store for her. I suggest you do the same, Link."

Tya glanced out toward the door they'd just come in. She thought once again, to take off and try this out on her own lest she get in his way, but whatever it was she wanted to do was cut short by a gasp escaping Link.

The ground shook beneath their feet. It was brief but hard, and her concern was quick to move from Link, up to the fragile temple in which they stood. It did not seem stable enough to withstand tremors like this, but again, the Goddess must have been watching over them because they ended without bringing the place down on them.

While she was concerned about the building itself, it seemed that this was not shared by the old woman. She very clearly had something else in mind. Tya's suspicions of her age having no bearings on her movement was proven correct as she shot to her feet. Her ragged face was deeply creased by concern, not for the suffering boy, but for another door entirely. One much larger, one on the end opposite where she stood.

"Link," she said again, placing a hand on his forearm. He winced away from her touch, having had his eyes closed again as he withstood another attack of stabbing pain. "It seems your presence has caused something dark to stir."

"Something dark?" Tya asked incredulously, looking to the old woman, then to the door that had held her attention. "What in all the hells is happening here?" She finally asked. Her question, while demanding, was left unanswered as the old woman began past her down the stairs. Link looked at her almost apologetically, something in his expression saying he didn't quite know the answer to that either. But regardless of whether or not he did, he followed the woman with blind trust, to find the source of said rumbling and stirring darkness. A terribly stupid plan.

Naive.

She was one to talk.

She was the complete opposite end of the spectrum though. Whereas Link was blindly trusting, she was blindly untrusting. Pessimistic and unwilling to believe anyone's intentions may be truly kind even despite the fact that those on Skyloft had seldom shown ill will toward her or anyone else.

But that was all the more reason to follow.

If something bad was going to happen to him, she should at least try to defend, shouldn't she? Or perhaps take that sword that's so incredibly important to retrieving Zelda, off his corpse.

No, that was an awful thought...

She knew him to be a good boy. He didn't deserve to be subjected to her inherent misanthropy.

She jogged after the two, catching up as the old woman slid open a door that cracked and showered a burst of dust onto them. Even she struggled to push it open, but not so much that she required aid. They stepped out into the greenery again, though this part was somehow different then that which she'd seen on the other side of the temple.

Not only was the atmosphere thick with something she couldn't quite give a name to, the grass was thinned and that of a swampy green. They stood at the edge of a massive crater, a rampart built to spiral down to it's depths. The trees didn't grow there. A near perfect circle formed a bowl around them where the branches and leaves of tall, thick trees curled over to hide much of the crater. The only life that seemed brave enough to dare getting close was them and that of vines that spilled over the cliff from the woods outside of the bowl.

It was a sight, that was for sure. Beautiful in a strange way, riveting, and she wanted to know what it was that could have carved out the earth in such a way. Leaning over the edge to peer down into the depths of the crater held no answers, but it did seem to be displeased by their presence as a gust of wind blew back up at both she and Link. Again, the boy cringed in pain, raising his hand to put his palm to his temple.

"There is a seal down below," the old woman told them. "The sword you carry, Link, can aid in keeping it closed. Hurry." She ushered him forward, but Tya, without thought, waved for her to calm a moment. The gravity of it didn't quite reach her- the thought that there was potentially a time limit to this was of little bearing. He was in pain, thus going off to do something was likely not going to end well.

He flinched, this time, not at her. He had peered out over the chasm through squinted blue eyes, and while she saw nothing, the horror on his face said he saw everything. Fear forced him back a step, but he dug his heels in upon recognizing the way his body wanted to flee.

His free hand pulled his blade free from its sheath, but its appearance chased away whatever it was that clouded his vision. He blinked, breathing labored with the adrenaline which had overcome him in his very brief hallucination. As he slowly began to realize there was nothing, he glanced down to Tya, then back to the old woman.

She made a motion for him to go, and again, his attention turned down to the girl at his side.

"I can stay," she said, trying to read the silent question. There was the smallest hint of reluctance that let her know her guess was wrong. "Or accompany you."

"You don't ha-have-have... You don't have to," he said softly.

"It's no burden to me, to do so," she shrugged, turning to look for where exactly this ramp began so they could descend. Upon placing it, she started off with what she hoped looked like confidence or curiosity, not the utter disbelief and fear that it really was. Though curiosity, in her, was never a lie.