Looking For Group

Part 20

Twilight nearly choked on his tea. "Are you sure?"

Flora nodded. More tears dribbled out of her eyes and she wiped them away quickly. "I'm the daughter of one of the richest men in Hyrule. As you can imagine that puts a target on my back. In the past my security detail were swayed by the prospect of holding me for ransom. In response, my father asked a young man in the Royal Elite Program to be my personal bodyguard. We eventually became best friends. He died in the line of duty, protecting me from an attempted kidnapping."

Twilight put the mug down, suddenly feeling sick. "Oh..."

Heroes were not immortal. Dying young and violently was unfortunately part of the job. Twilight was not even thirty years and he has already broken every single one of his ribs. He's got burn scars on his stomach and legs. His ring finger on his right hand could not bend all the way down. When he was first discovered, Time brought him to the fallen Hero memorial site the royal family had in their garden. Large black stone pillars bore the names of the Hero and a prayer made by their personal princess.

There were a few pillars that had nothing on their surface and when asked, Time said they were dedicated to unknown Heroes.

The sight of that empty black space haunted Twilight. He hated the idea that one of his own were erased from history.

"I'm sorry," said Flora. "I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear."

"It happens," Twilight said quietly. "It's rare but it does happen. What was his name? I would like to pay my respects to him."

"I... want you to be aware we were unable to recover his body. All we have for him is a memorial plaque in my family's personal cemetery."

Twilight flinched. "I understand. His name, please."

"His name was Wild."

It took a second for that to register in Twilight's mind. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Wild. I know, it's an unusual name, thought to be fair you're named Twilight-"

"No, no, I don't care about that. His name was Wild, are you sure?"

Flora gaped at him, surprised by the sudden tone shift. "Uh... yeah-"

"Do you have a picture?"

"I... no, all I had were digital copies and they were corrupted when our computers got hacked. Why are you...?"

"When did he die?"

"Why-"

"Please-! I just... I need to confirm something. Please."

Twilight couldn't blame her for looking so nonplussed. Flora chewed on the inside of her cheeks as she considered her options. More than once she glanced over to the elevator as if she wanted to leave this immensely fucking weird-ass situation.

"About three years ago," she finally said.

"Where?"

"...The Rauru settlements."

Twilight pulled out his phone and did a quick search. Wild said he'd been found on the shores of Lake Hylia. According to the map, the Rauru settlements were ten miles away upstream. No wonder nobody found him.

Flora slammed her mug of tea down upon a stack of books "Alright are you going to tell me what's going on? You seem a little too eager to listen to how my best friend was killed-!"

Twilight told her. He told her everything. The coffee shop, the burns, the memory loss, the touching of the Master Sword. He even showed her the same news article Wild had shown him so many weeks ago.

By the end of it all, Flora was shaking, her hand over her mouth. Silent tears cascaded down her cheeks. She swallowed and asked in a small voice, "Do you have a picture?"

"Yes!" Twilight paused. "No wait... I emptied out my folder just two days ago. And I don't use social media... I can call him...! Dammit, I can't. He's in class right now and doesn't keep his phone on..."

"But you're not lying to me, right?" Flora asked, almost begging. "He's alive?"

"He's alive," Twilight promised her. "Alive and happy."

Flora burst into tears again. She curled in on herself, clutching her stomach as she sobbed.

"I begged the Goddesses to save him," she said in between cries. "He told me to run and I did... I felt like a coward. He stayed behind to ensure I would be safe..."

Twilight knelled down in front of her. He gently touched her shoulder, and she looked up at him, her face ruddy and red.

"We could go see him," he offered gently. "Now. Today. Let's fucking go."

Flora gave out a short laugh, quickly gaining control over her tears. She took a moment to use her sleeve to wipe at her face and when she looked at him again, she was smiling widely. "Yes. Let's."

The elevators suddenly dinged. The doors opened, revealing Rhoam and the others.

"Good news!" Rhoam said as he stepped into the room. "Flora, I talked to the Heroes and they agreed to postpone the choosing ceremony until..." He trailed off, seeing Flora's red face. "What happened here?"

Flora ran up to him, throwing herself into his chest, hugging him tightly. "Father, I just got the most amazing news! Wild is alive!"

Both Warriors and Sky snapped their heads towards Twilight, giving him annoyed looks.

"She's his princess," was all Twilight able to say.

"Alive?" Rhoam repeated once Flora pulled away. "That's not possible, you told me yourself you saw him fall in battle."

"I was mistaken."

"Then if he's alive where the hell has he been for the past three years?"

"He lost his memory and now is working as a barista in a college town!"

A long awkward silence followed. Though it was the truth, even Twilight lightly cringed from the way it sounded. Daytime drama shows had nothing compared to crazy shit of their lives.

Rhoam certainly didn't believe it. He shook his head. "Flora... I know how much you miss the boy, but not even you could believe such lies!"

"Father-"

"What proof do you have?" He asked to Twilight. "A photo? A video?"

Twilight held out his hands in a helpless manner. He sighed. "Just my words."

"Then you have nothing," Rhoam hissed. "How dare you. Wild was a good kid. He didn't deserve what happened to him and I won't allow you to sully his memory to manipulate my daughter. I admired you Heroes, but now I see you all have ulterior motives. Please leave my building immediately."

"No!" Flora said. "We have to at least confirm! Hyrule University is only a two hour drive away-"

"It's obviously a ruse-"

"We have to check-"

"You're letting your emotions get the better of you-"

Flora's cheeks burned red in frustration. Her hands were shaking, tears once again prickling the edges of her eyes. She sniffled, lifted her chin in defiance and turned to Sky. "I'm ready to take the sword."

"Oh!" Sky said, jerking to attention. He pulled the sword forward, taking off the silk sheet. "Are you sure you want to do it now? We can wait."

"Yes, I want to confirm."

"Wait a second!" Rhoam said. "Just twenty minutes ago you didn't want to and now you do? Flora, I don't like this. I forbid you to take that sword until we get some solid answers."

Flora reached out.

"I said- NO!"

What happened next was an accident. However a lapse of judgement was not an excuse. The Sword did not reward stupidity or forgotten lessons, not even to those related to Her chosen ones.

Rhoam, in an effort to prevent his daughter from making a mistake, grabbed the hilt with both hands.