Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Kyou's War - Myths

-Zelda-

Zelda opened her eyes with the first light and briskly rose. 

The ad-lib leader among them, Matsubi, rose minutes after her and prepared some food to break the fast. He used the last of their combined rations and thinned it out with water from a nearby stream to make hot soup. He handed Zelda a bowl with a silent nod and a small smile.

'A resourceful, proactive man.' She noted. There was also a gentleness about him that defied her first impression as an enemy, while he was also strict with his peers. She couldn't place it, but it reminded her briefly of how Impa was at times.

Link was sprawled across the ground, arms and legs wide open, snoring and drooling. He was dead to the world. Midna's sword was several feet away from his hand. Zelda scoffed. He was wide open to being assassinated. Unbeknownst to him, she was a light sleeper and heard much of what was said last night. She was not pleased.

"Wake them," Zelda ordered Matsubi. "We can eat while we move. We should arrive before midday if we pick up the pace."

"Yes, your highness."

He awoke everyone with a kick. Link, in a half-awake moment of instinct, latched onto the attacking foot and bit down. The men laughed as Matsubi struggled to pry the kid off. Zelda shook her head at their behavior and started up the steep path.

The environment changed as they took the path from marker to marker. The forest became darker but also filled with more lights. The overcast against the sun became denser and denser, but it was thriving and alive. Hidden laughter filled the forest.

"Someone is out there," Matsubi murmured. "Anyone see them?" 

"It's like they're toying with us!" Link barked as more laughter could be heard. Whoever was out there was too quick. His hand unconsciously reached for Midna's sword.

"Ignore them," Zelda ordered. "They are part of the forest's danger. If my guess is true, then at least some myths of this forest are true. Despite my jesting yesterday, the Fae are real. The children of Farore make their home here. They have been watching us since we entered their territory, but because we have stuck to the path laid out by the Sheikah they have not harmed us. If anything, what you are witnessing is their whimsical nature. Do not stray from the path, and they will not show how dangerous they can be."

"So you expect us to do nothing while they play like trolls!" Link argued. Zelda stopped briefly. She turned to look him in the eye, with such a look as to dare his defiance. It stopped Link on the spot and his words caught in his throat.

"Yes." 

She turned her back on him and continued.

Link felt the need to argue, to defy her, to be uncontrolled, but after the look she gave him he couldn't. Never had he seen someone so distrustful and merciless. It chilled him to the bone.

While Zelda knew where their destination lied, even she was unprepared for what was found past the final marker. The Sheikah marker pointed to a crevice between rocks. It was brief, with the passage opening wide. The men in front of her gasped in awe, and feeling curious, she squeezed her way between them.

What laid before her eyes snatched her breath away, and for a moment she fewlt something enter her heart alight to a gentle flame. Unlike the endless void, she constantly bore, the warmth of what she saw spread through her limbs and into her face until she smiled.

Before them was a water-filled alcove in the rocks, like the top of a volcano filled with water. Water-lily and flowers floated and filled the earth around it, while beneath the water, and above it, were moving lights.