The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's Hope

Chapter 41: Starlight, Part 1

Dori and Daron opened the chest. "Look! It's a star fragment!" Dori gasped. She leaned in and took it in her hands. "Well, well, well," they turned around to see Ratna standing behind them, "just the girl I was trying to find."

"Ratna!" Dori hissed. She and Daron gasped when they saw the witch holding Aya and Zya with large arms made of malice. "Now, it's time you come with me!" Ratna laughed. "Take me instead!" Daron shouted, "I'm the one you want! I know everything about Princess Rhiannon, even things that Dori doesn't know!"

"Who are you, exactly?" Ratna asked, "Whatever, get out of the way."

Dori then took Daron by the arm and both then vanished into thin air. "Dammit!" Ratna hissed, "At this point, I will never know Rhiannon's weaknesses! Time to go for her other friends."

"It's a star fragment!" Koli and Tulin gasped. When Tulin leaned forward to retrieve the fragment, he saw Koli get pulled away. "Koli!" Tulin cried before being pulled away himself. He held the star fragment tightly as he was being pulled. "Tulin!" Koli shouted, "It's her!"

"Shut up!" Tulin looked up to see Ratna binding Koli with malice. He also noticed Zya and Aya trying to tell him to run away. "I have to take this star fragment to the general!" he thought, trying to fly off. "Any reason you want to take that to the general, Tulin?" Ratna asked. "Kill me if you want, witch!" Tulin hissed, "You're not getting information from me!"

"Yeah! It's not like it's Rhiannon's birthday or something!" Koli said. "Koli!" Tulin shouted angrily, making Zya and Aya gasp. "Oh, is that so?" Ratna chuckled, "It seems like I've got a little birthday surprise for the princess."

Tulin then noticed he had one bomb arrow left and the Great Eagle Bow was within his reach. Without using words, he came up with a plan. When the witch turned around, he quickly loaded his last bomb arrow and shot it at her, making her scream in pain. As she recoiled in pain, the malice arms disappeared. Tulin then loaded an ice arrow into the bow, freezing the witch solid before she could recover. "Thank the gods!" Zya exclaimed. "Ratna held us hostage for the last few days," Aya added, "she wants to know Rhiannon's weaknesses and–"

"Yes, we know she's after Dori," Tulin said. He and Koli then exchanged worried looks. "Dori!" they exclaimed. "We have to find her before Ratna unfreezes!" Tulin shouted, "Come on! She went to the West Hebra Mountains!"

Dori and Daron then appeared inside a large cave. It was as cold as it was outside and was covered in ice. "How did Ratna find us?" Daron asked, "Father Rayne was not kidding when he said she's always one step ahead!"

"At least we have the star fragment," Dori sighed, holding the fragment in her hands, "Daron, can I confess something?"

Daron then turned towards her. "If this is our last day alive," Dori said timidly, "I want you to know that... I always had a crush on you..."

"Huh?! Y-You did?" Daron gasped, his surprise was unmeasurable, "B-But I remember you hated me!"

"When you started acting creepy towards Rhia, I did," Dori said, "you were so obsessed with her, you were so in love with her when she didn't like you back. I was there all the time, hoping you would take your eyes off Rhiannon but you never did. I would pray you would one day open your eyes and see me standing right in front of you. But you never did... I guess that's another reason why I was so jealous of Rhiannon... I just wanted you to notice me..."

"So, you would've loved me?" Daron asked. "I loved you," Dori sighed, "I just didn't want to admit it. It's not like it mattered, anyway. Even if I had told you back then, you would still be in love with Rhiannon."

"I... I don't know what to say, Dori..." Daron said, "I really didn't expect you of all people to have feelings for me."

"Whatever," Dori rolled her eyes. They were both startled when they heard noises coming from outside the cave. Dori reached for her Eightfold blade as the noises grew closer. "Thank Hylia! There they are!" Zya, Tulin, Aya, and Koli walked down the cave. "Huh?" Dori gasped, "How did you guys find us?"