The Twilight Princess 2: The Time Forgotten

Twenty-Two

"Ahh Kai. Nice to see you again, hone," Mrs. Evans welcomed Kai from behind the counter just moments after he walked through the door with Aria whilst sipping her tea. "How may I help you?"

"It's my friend, Aria. She may be in trouble."

Mrs. Evans set down her tea and walked out from behind the counter. "Oh my—what happened?"

"Her magic was stolen by Reyoscuro, the Dark King, who is plotting to take over Zerelelia. She's very weak without it."

Mrs. Evans guided them to a nearby bed. "Please, come lay her down. Those with magic have their emotions and strength tied in with their magic. When one is stripped of their magic, they must gain lots of rest and lay low for awhile until they can get their magic back."

Aria slightly opened one eye. "Lay low? I—I can't...do that. Tom—he—he's still out there...." She could barely move her mouth and keep that one eye open.

Kai handed her over to Mrs. Evans, who gently placed her on the bed. "It's the only thing that'll make you feel better, dear. You can't fight this powerful of a villain all weak and powerless as you are now."

Aria groaned from in bed.

"Come on," Mrs. Evans escorted Kai over to the kitchen. "Let's give her some space to rest."

Once they were away from Aria, Kai brought up Winter. "How's she doing? Did you guys ever manage to get the necklace back and find out who the thief was?"

Mrs. Evan's face and shoulders dropped as she sighed. "Unfortunately not. That darn thief is still out there. By now, they've probably already sold the necklace and made a fortune off of it."

Kai's face twisted confoundedly. "That's strange...why would they go to some much trouble pretending to be in a coma for so long just to make a quick buck? I don't know about you, but I feel like there's much more to the story than just that. Like there's something we don't know about this certain thief."

"Well.... I mean it is awfully odd for an old lady to steal something like that...and she did seem unusually fast and skilled for her age...."

"Yeah."

The sound of the front door opening and closing startled them both.

"Winter!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"Out helping Dad collect wood for the fire," the eccentric tween answered as she took off her white winter hat to reveal the messy, wavy hair from underneath. "I collected waaaaaay more than him!"

"That's great sweetie." Mrs. Evans grinned at her awfully quirky young daughter. "Why don't you go out and help him bring them in?"

"Do I have to?" Winter groaned as she went over to the cabinet and grabbed a jar of cookies from inside it. Just as she was about to walk away with the jar, Mrs. Evans stopped her. "Oh no, not until you go outside and help your father. And have dinner." She grabbed the jar from Winter's hands.

Winter crossed her arms and slumped her shoulders as she reluctantly followed her mother's orders. Mrs. Evans turned back to Kai. "Sorry 'bout that. Sometimes Winter can have quite the rebellious side to her, which forces me to crack down hard on her when needed. Now, is there anything else you need?" She blinked.

"Uhhh—would you mind if I stayed here with Aria for awhile? Just to make sure she's alright and everything."

"Yes, but do give her some space, hone." She shifted her gaze over to Aria laying in bed. "It's what she needs the most right now."

"Sure thing. Thanks."

"Of course. Now, if you excuse me, I have a tween to watch." She hopped over to a hanger and slipped on her coat as she made a mad dash out the door. Kai laughed. Winter was right, her parents really are overprotective. But then again, it must have been nice to at least still have parents.

"How is she?" Zoey slipped through the front door in a rush, followed by Dr. Krawl. Kai pointed over to the bed that Aria was laying in. "She's resting."

Zoey raced over to her best friend and knelt beside the bed. "Ari, are alright? Oh, please tell me you're okay!"

Aria lifted her heavy head up slightly and opened up both eyes. "I'm fine. A lot better now, actually."

"Oh, thank goodness." Zoey tightly wrapped her arms around Aria's neck and refused to let go. Aria just sat there awkwardly as she did so, too weak to hug back.

"I hate to break up this, uh, tender moment," Dr. Krawl cleared his throat. "But Zaria's waiting for us."

"Where is she?" Kai asked.

"At the church," Krawl replied. "She's organizing my dad's funeral. Honestly, I didn't expect her to take on such a task, let alone put so much effort into it. He must have had a pretty big role in her story after all."

"Wow. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she really has turned to the good side."

Krawl nodded. "Seems like it." He looked over at the girls. "Aria, you up for it?"

She managed to nod just a little from where her head was positioned: on Zoey's shoulder. "Yeah, but Zoey," she said, pushing her away. "You're gonna have to be a lot less clingy, ok?" She laughed.

Zoey giggled. "I mean I'll try, but like—I just really missed you ok!"

This time, Aria hugged her. "Aww, I missed you too Zoe."

"Let's gooooo you two," Krawl huffed, constantly checking his watch.

Zoey let go and helped Aria up.

"You need me to help you walk?" Zoey offered, her arm ready.

"Nah, I got it." Aria smiled. As they exited, she noticed that the snow was beginning to melt away, which was something that Zerelelia had never seen before. Spring was on the way. And so was war.

"Ari, you coming?" Zoey called from in front of her.

"Yup." She ran to catch up with the others.

As they passed by Wahsit's former house, the genie lamp was still in there. And Ora Gloon was still trapped inside it. But not for long. She had an escape plan. One that the others weren't aware of. She reached into her holster and pulled out the emerald necklace. "Turns out you were a fake," she pouted. "But now I know where the real Emerald of Trox is....and now that the Captain is back in town, it's finally time for us to get revenge on Mother. The Chosen One doesn't stand a chance, for that the real fun is only about to begin."

To be continued....