Forest Origin

Chapter 25

As they had been doing, everyone gathered at the hallway. This with all their belongings packed and now back into their usual clothing. The ballroom attire was neatly placed on their beds, which had been made as well.

Green glanced around at the small crowd. "Everyone ready?"

"Yeah. Let's just go before someone gets any wise ideas." Blue said. After everything that happened tonight, the last thing they needed was a fight. Though he'd love nothing more than to knock some sense into these Nirin people.

"Zelda already knows to expect us soon. If we're not there by the time she's expecting us, they'll be soldiers looking for us."

Without another word exchanged, everyone began making their way to the exit. Surprisingly, the castle seemed a little more empty than it was before. Was it because all the guests from the ball had already went home? Or was this the sign of some sort of trap waiting for them at the end?

The fact that there was no way to tell concerned Wolf. She kept her hand laying on the hilt of her sword, ready to unsheath it should the need arrive. It seemed that everyone else had a similar idea. Blue already had his sword out of its sheath. Almost as if he was daring someone to try and stop them.

Either way, Wolf wanted nothing more than to put this night behind her, go home, and return to her normal life in Hyrule. No more of this royal business.

Red glanced over at Wolf and reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Instantly Wolf felt a bit calmer, squeezing his hand back.

Everything was going to be fine. The castle is probably still in a bit of disarray because of the ball ending abruptly. They could use that to their advantage. Even if there was a stray soldier that tried to make them wait, they could force their way through easily.

Whether or not it was a stroke of bad luck a soldier they were about to pass noticed them.

"Oh it's you lot." the soldier noted. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Hyrule." Green answered.

The soldier's eyes widened in shock. "So soon? Does Queen Rose know about this? Or even approve of it?"

At the mention of Rose and approval, Wolf's clenched her fists and marched forward, letting go of Red's hand in the process.

"We're not looking for her permission." she growled. "Or anyone else's for that matter. We had a deal and that deal is finished. Now let us through."

The soldier was taken aback, only recovering enough to scurry out of their way. At the sight of it, Shadow couldn't help but smile amusedly.

"Well look at you, putting someone in their place."

Wolf sighed before uncurling her fist. The soldier was likely just doing his job and probably confused about everything that's going on. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to snap at him like that.

As if he had read her mind, Blue walked over and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it. One way or another he was getting out of the way."

They continued their walk, making it outside into the open night air. So far there didn't seem to be anyone in sight, which made Wolf going back to wondering if this was a good or bad thing. There still could be a trap waiting for them at the very end after all. There's no telling what Rose or any of her knights were doing since she ran out of the ballroom.

Soon the gates were in sight, which brought a small spark of hope and relief to the group. But right before they could walk through it, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Wait."

Behind them was none other than the Nirin Queen Rose, accompanied by her two main knights. Rose glanced at the group. All of them seemed eager to leave this place. Another reminder of how this night had all went wrong. She briefly made eye contact with Blythe only to see a slight glare. Her hand curled around the hilt of her sword.

That look was the last thing Rose wanted to see.

Before anything could happen, Green stepped forward. "Princess Zelda already knows that we're returning to Hyrule." he told her. "If you do anything to stall us from going home then she'll know something's wrong and will send troops to search for us."

Rose sighed in defeat. "Don't worry. I'm not going to force you to do anything. I just need to say this before you leave."

She then looked over at Wolf, whose glare turned into a look mixed with surprise and suspicion. "Bly... I'm sorry for everything that we... that I ended up putting you through. I haven't been really acting like a proper queen, much less a sister when I found out you were alive. Disregarding your feelings to achieve a goal that wasn't possible was wrong of me."

Rose hesitated a little before stepping forward, offering the Forest Sword to Wolf. "I really do want you to take this as a gift though. Not as a princess or queen... but as you are now. And... if you do take the Forest Sword, I hope it can also be a way to know that you'll give me another chance to make things right... if you ever want to visit Nirin."

Wolf stared at the sacred weapon, and then at the young queen in front of her. Searching for any type of deception. Though there didn't seem to be any. Unlike the other times they've interacted, there didn't seem to be any sort of hidden hope or expectations.

It was then that a bird flew by over their heads. As it passed, Wolf heard a message.

"I heard the conversation she had with the other two. There are no hidden intentions."

Wolf glanced back at where the bird had flew before returning her attention at the queen and the sacred sword. She hesitated for a moment before reaching out for the Forest Sword.

"To be honest, I'm not sure when exactly I'll feel comfortable enough to visit here." she admitted. "But that doesn't mean I should disregard all that you three went through when I disappeared. So..." Wolf took a breath before taking the sword in her hand. "One day I'll come back... as long as you promise that nothing like this will happen again."

"I promise." Rose vowed. "When you do decide to come back to visit off, everything will be better."

Raven smiled in relief. Even after all this, Blythe was still willing to give them another shot at this. She really was just as forgiving as she was before. The young knight apprentice standing before them really was Blythe. "We'll wait for you." she promised.

Rose then looked to everyone else as Wolf strapped the sword to her back. "I guess it's safe to say that you'll all continue to have Bly- er... Wolf's back?"

Green nodded. "You have our word."

Rose willed herself to smile. "Thank you." she then glanced at the guards on the other side. "Open the gates."

The castle gates began to open. Wolf took one last glance at the three girls before following her friends out of the forest kingdom.