Royal Rebel 4 ~ The Return

Chapter 23: Carrying Blame

"This is it." I breathed as Ellet and Azu walked behind me to the start of the path into the Great Hyrule Forest, Ellet curiously looking down the dark entrance. "Alright. We have to be careful. This thing could be full of dangers."

"We'll be fine, Ida. I'm a master of the dark, so getting through this should be no trouble at all." Azu stretched out his arms and then got in a ready position before darting off down the trail.

"Well, he did manage to get inside and rescue the Thyphlo Ruins by himself. I'm sure he'll be back any moment, letting us know he found the center." I grinned as I folded my arms, and Ellet shrugged as we both looked down the dark pathway.

"AHH!" Azu was practically thrown out of the forest and back at our feet, dizzy and covered in grass and leaves. "What kind of forest is this?!"

"Did you find the Great Deku Tree?" Ellet inquired as Azu stood up, brushing all of the plants off himself.

"I couldn't! I bet I didn't even get ten feet into that forest before some weird vines or something tangled around my legs and pulled me out!" He huffed and fixed his hat, pursing his lips as he rolled up his sleeves. "I'll try again." He dashed right back into the forest, and moments later, he was thrown out once again.

"Azu, this is a sacred forest. I'm sure getting in won't be as easy as just rushing in and hoping for the best." I helped him up, and he sighed and agreed with me. "Come on. We have to figure this out." I led them in, and we cautiously followed the path, keeping our distance from the trees beside us.

"Hey, look!" Ellet pointed to a flame just straight ahead, and we hurried over to it. He grabbed the torch and held it up to the flame, lighting the edge of it. "Now what?" He looked around, and I noticed something about the fire. No matter what way he turned, the sparks emitting from it were going in one direction.

"I think we follow the sparks!" I exclaimed, pointing in the direction they went. Both of them exchanged looks, questioning whether or not they wanted to follow my plan. "Do you guys have any better ideas?" They shrugged, and I grabbed the torch and began following the sparks.

"Idalia, are you sure this is-" A twig snapped near us, and we stopped and scanned the area, standing close to each other. We began worrying about what was out there, but we continued on nonetheless. I spotted the next torch ahead, and ran towards it. "Idalia!"

"This way! I was right!" We stopped at that torch, and the sparks began going in a different direction. "We have to keep going. Come on." Step by step, we made our way to the next torch. So far, so good.

"This place is weird," Azu whispered, keeping himself close to my side as we walked. "What if we get lost in here? Or worse, killed?" He asked, and I thought about it. What then? If we continued on the path I was sure we'd be safe, but what if Ganon had this place haunted or something?

"AH!" Ellet gasped as he tripped and fell, and when Azu and I turned back at the sound, I could see a vine slither away from Ellet's leg. "I'm with Azu. I don't like this place too much."

"We're doing this for my dad, remember?" I pointed to the still half destroyed sword on my back, and Ellet got up and sighed, nodding his head. "I'm not a huge fan of this forest either, but if it's the only way to save the Master Sword, I'm willing to go through it."

"I'm doing this only because I care about you, Ida," Azu told me, folding his arms. "Now village boy over here, I'm not exactly sure of his reasons right now."

"I'm protecting you two." Ellet said pridefully. "Idalia might not need it all the way, but you, 'Sheikah master', are probably going to need my help sooner or later." He gave a sly smile to Azu, and the sheikah huffed at his words. "Besides, I think we make a great team so far! We could be the heroes of Hyrule! Maybe we're the keys!"