The Legend of Zelda: Shackles of Memory

Chapter 17: The Soul Patch

The final night of preparation before heading out to find the Soul Patch was a tense one. Van never said that there would be any perilous situations involved with finding the Soul Patch, yet he went ahead and assembled a team of individuals as if they were raiding a fortress. That was only the beginning of the curiosities and worries for Cremia. A last-minute twist on the situation presented itself when Nesira wedged herself into the picture. Her natural charm was taken in typical form by Van until they spoke in private. When they shared a few words behind closed doors Cremia could have sworn they took to each other as if they had met before… and she was sure Grasshopper was in the middle of all of it in some way, shape, or form. All these thoughts were absolutely exhausting for Cremia to process. Oddly enough they were so exhausting that they cradled Cremia to a good full night's sleep.

-

Like she does every day, Cremia awoke with the cucco's call. She undertook her usual daily ritual of rubbing the dust out of her eyes, setting out all her clothes, and taking a bath to start her day. This particular day was singular and solemn. The clothes she set out were going to be worn for the third time; the first when she first tried them on, the second when she tried them on in a previous day, and the third time will be when she got out of the shower, put them on, and marched out to an uncertain location with uncertain results.

Another addition to the daily ritual, Cremia lifted up her hair in a bun and grabbed her sister's bow. Even though battles were not certain, the set-up Van constructed screamed for it. Van himself sat at the downstairs table with his arms crossed. He looked out at the sunrise with an expression that could not be read for the life of anybody. He appeared to notice Cremia's descent.

"It occurred to me that perhaps we ought to leave as soon as possible, but rest it more important than punctuality. How are you doing?"

Cremia shrugged. "Fine. I got enough sleep in the end."

"Excellent. Well, as soon as you're ready we can go get the others of our group and head out. I'm thinking that the more pressing item is the Soul Patch. That way we can keep Grasshopper in a constant condition instead of worsening by the second."

"Right. Then let's go!"

The moment was stunted by smaller feet hitting the floor. Cremia and Van looked to see Romani, still in her night gown and rubbing her eyes, looking back at them. Cremia was especially surprised since even though both she and Romani claim that the younger sister wakes up with the cuccos, it really was Cremia that wakes Romani up every morning. She would rather sleep in like most kids.

This particular morning was admittedly different. Romani gently approached her sister and hugged around the older sister's matronly form. "Good luck, Sister."

Cremia's eyes softened as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and another on the top of her head. Romani never would have done such a thing any time before Grasshopper first arrived. His simple and somewhat naïve nature put the most basic things in life in perspective. Cremia had been obsessed with making a profit with the ranch but ended up content in just running the ranch. The fact that the ranch began to go under was an unfortunate coincidence.

With her sister so concentrated on the ranch's financial status, it was too easy for Romani to begin taking her sister for granted. Romani was under the impression by her fellow children that any authority, be it parents or especially older siblings, was not understanding and ought to be contested with great indignity. Thus Romani, despite her friendly nature, took to shrugging her sister's affection off and treating her sister's cooking with disdain, among other things. Grasshopper's constant genuine recognition of how important every person and thing is to him reminded Romani of her own, or the lack thereof.

For the umpteenth time, Cremia made note of yet another reason why she, the ranch, Clock Town, and perhaps all of Termina owe something to Grasshopper. He has unintentionally become somewhat of a lifeblood that has righted the wrongs with society like profit motive and relativity. Cremia felt it her duty as a receiver of Grasshopper's good will to turn around and actually help Grasshopper in his time of need.

Cremia rubbed the top of Romani's head comfortingly. "Thank you, Romani. I really mean that. Don't you worry; we'll have him back soon. And I'll be in great company. All you have to do is be a good girl and help out the ranch hands in any way you can."

Rather than protest at being able to do nothing about Grasshopper or being forced to do chores, Romani looked up at her sister and nodded swiftly, causing tears to lose their grip. "Okay!"

Van wiped his eye from under his golden locks and stood from his seat. "All right, I take it that is our cue to go." He passed by Romani and ruffled her hair. "Like your sister said… be good, kid."

Romani finally came up with her response as the two elder individuals were half out the door. "YOU be good, too! Don't try any funny business with Cremia just 'cause she's pretty!"

Cremia's and Van's heads whipped up at that comment. They shared a red-faced stare. Van broke it to coolly look back at Romani.

"I'll make no promises, kid."

Cremia and Van left Romani giggling, which was a much better sight to leave her with than a solemn and teary goodbye.

-

If somebody told Cremia a year or two ago that she would be in party consisting of a Zora, a Goron, Tingle (that strange guy who draws outside your ranch), A Gerudo with green hair, and a mysterious yet rugged young man who she may feel something for based solely on a physical attraction or something that she may feel underlying (not unlike the awkward graces she used to share with Grasshopper, yet another young man who this entire situation was for, but that would be going off on several tangents), she would have laughed and continued on her way.

Yet there she was. Surrounded by individuals freshly gathered from a meeting place in front of Clock Town's owl statue. There were six in all. There was, of course, her, Cremia. She was dressed in a way completely unlike her normal attire and carried a weapon, a bow-and-arrow, which also betrayed her normal mannerisms. Next was Van who as far as Cremia could tell was also Termanian (or whatever the term is for her own species) but otherwise he was just a decent person trying to repay a debt to Grasshopper.

Next was the female Zora, Zenkit. Cremia had no experience around Zenkit but as far as she could tell Zenkit was normally on the shy side but really stepped up with a firm and webbed fist when it came to issues she felt strongly about, be it to step in and protect a friend or to have the largest cucco nugget from the plate. An equally new figure in the party was Serf, the Goron. Even though he stood above any of the other five, anybody would know that he was small for a Goron. His teenage voice nailed in his age for any skeptics. A recent string of success in Goron racing caused him to take any situation and put it in terms of racing to make it all seem friendlier and more approachable. It was a wide-eyed determination that must have rubbed off from Grasshopper.

Tingle's exact identity was up for debate. He claimed to be a fairy, but the fairies that Cremia read about only existed to the naked eye as balls of light with wings that show their true form only up close. There was nothing radiant about the arguably disturbing maybe middle-aged short man and his only means of flight came in the form of balloons. Past that was a simple-minded fellow who enjoyed being helpful. Last, and certainly not least if she could help it was the fiery Gerudo herself, Nesira. Cremia clicked her mind's tongue at the way Nesira dressed, a metallic breast plate kept on by thin straps and big-legged Gerudo pants, and at the way Nesira carried herself around. The girl probably doesn't have a drop of estrogen in her that surpassed the expectations of any Gerudo. No, scratch that. Nesira sure took advantage of her feminine wiles when it came to Grasshopper. Unfortunately for her woman's intuition, Cremia had nothing damning against Nesira that she could immediately recall. Thus in the fashion of an accepting individual Cremia had no choice but to accept Nesira's help through her teeth.

When the group met Van outlined the possible locations as he had done as mere speculation for Cremia and Romani. He said that the Soul Lantern would be more pressing to salvage what is left of Grasshopper so they would no longer be working against time before he lost too much of his soul and was lost forever. The Soul Patch is not whole, but a vital ingredient would be located in a serene setting that felt healing. A forest was always a good bet. Being an expert on locations, Tingle immediately presented the Woods at the edge of the swamp.

"Exactly what I needed, down to the letter!" Van nodded in approval of the swimming progress, "You get a point."

"POINTS?" Nesira couldn't help but call out. "Now you're SCORING us on how much we do!?"

Eyes were rolled all around. Van sighed, "No, of course not. I wouldn't do anything so cranial. I was just using a figure of speech."

"I still don't approve."

Zenkit cut into the possible bickering fight. "Do you have to be angry to assure yourself that you feel some way about something? He's trying to make things more comfortable and you're winding us all up again!"

Nesira shot Zenkit a look and for the first time the Gerudo's glare was matched. She eventually scratched an opposite arm. "Yeah, yeah. Screwing around isn't making Grasshopper healthier! What are we all waiting for!?"

Van stood, "I agree. We'll have to put our prides aside if we want to repay the debt we all owe to him. Let's move out!" The group of six began to pile out the door of the Milk Bar. Van paused by Zenkit. "Oh, and I really appreciate your dedication to keeping this operation together. One nonexistent point for you!"

An appalled scoff escaped Nesira. She watched Zenkit vengefully as the Zora beat a slightly quicker stride with her chest out and a nonspecific smug grin.

Serf rubbed the back of his head. Half of him worried that there wasn't enough maturity to go around. The other half wondered when he would get in on any of that scoring action.

-

Convinced that being part of the team entitled it to free maps, Tingle gladly lent a parchment that covered the swamp. There was little trouble in finding the said Woods. Past the large logged entrance the group saw in front of them three more paths. Each looked exactly like the rest and was pitch black inside. None of them could make out the end to any of them.

Van handed the swamp map back to Tingle. "Okay, now could I have the map for these Woods?"

"Aheh, sir…" Tingle said nervously, "These Woods… they are un-map-able! See, sir, they are magic. You can run one way and never hit the opposite edge, sir!"

"'Magic Woods?'" Zenkit repeated, never having been in these parts of Termina before.

For some reason, those words caused Van to stare ahead in thought. His gaze seemed to take in the words 'Magic Woods' and find something in his memory that would match it at all. Eventually his search came up fruitful. He looked into the sky, which oddly was not covered by treetops, and leaned to a side.

Cremia approached to inquire Van as to what he was doing but Van held up a finger. "Do you hear that…?"

The other five also leaned. Without any of their chatter only the sounds of the Woods were heard. Those sounds soon included something that one would swear did not belong in the woods.

"Music…" Cremia mused.

"Funky music, too!" Serf beamed, "If it were any louder, I could just dance!"

Nesira suppressed a laugh which came out as a snort. "A Goron dancing? I would like to see THAT."

Completely ignoring the comments from the peanut gallery, Van balled the finger into a full fist. "I think that music is these 'Magic Woods'' way of giving us a fighting chance to find our way through. Assuming there was something to find, at any rate." Or perhaps the Woods directs any person or party in the direction they wanted go? It sounded presumptuous to Van, but considering the world outside of dwellings anything was possible. "Okay, somebody go to each of those three caves and tell me if you hear anything different."

The closest members positioned themselves beside each large log. 'Nothing different.' came out twice but Serf bounced a little as he stood. "Oh yeah! The music is louder over here!"

Triumphant looks were exchanged and at Van's word they piled into the tunnel. When the darkness in the log tunnel lifted, the site they now stood only lowered morale.

"It's the same thing!" Someone groaned.

Tragically and truly enough, the area they emerged into consisted of an empty grassy patch with four log tunnels including the one they just used. Van, however, seemed no more disheartened. "Okay, same deal! Somebody to an entrance!"

Zenkit had no sooner taken her place when she squeaked and reeled back. "Definitely this way!"

Once more the group took to a spirited sprint. Van looked to the ground but found Tingle hovering with his balloon at eye level. "You ought to be making a map. I mean, we'll probably need to retrace our steps."

"Yes, sir!" Tingle produced a parchment and his quill from seemingly nowhere. "Okay, now the areas is about this size, hmm, and we took a right and then a left, was it? Ahhh…" One would wonder how Tingle could draw without a flat surface, but a closer look would reveal that the quill magically traced ink onto the paper without making actual contact or with any ink on its tip.

The trip was interesting enough at first but even standing and listening to music became tedious. Almost everybody looked to Nesira to see when she would start complaining. Van willed the next log cave to lead to something else besides three more log caves. Through some luck and timing he got his wish.

Tingle pointed. "A gate, sir! Something new to draw!"

No logs were in the area, thankfully. There was just the log they came out of, two long hedge walls, and an iron gate. Past the gate the group could see a stairway going downward overlooking a small hedge maze.

Cremia walked up to the gate and held on to the bars so she could see as far past as she could. The colors in the area were all sorts of variations of green, brown. The group took turns commenting on how Nesira ought to be right at home. "Incredible…" Cremia whispered, "I have never heard of this place! At least, I don't think Grasshopper has told me anything about a place in the Woods with so many hedges."

Van walked next to her and scanned the area below. "Probably because he's never had any reason to be here. We, on the other hand, have something to gain that serves a pure purpose. I'm sure that if somebody walked through those woods looking for, say, a missing person, the music would have taken them to that person. These must be hallowed grounds." Van tugged on the gates but a chain kept them shut. "Well, damn. We can't have been taken this far to be blocked by a gate. Maybe a button or an arrow-activated… What is that ungoddessly-?"

"Coming through!!" Serf shouted before Van could say 'noise.' The young man grabbed Cremia's arm and pulled her away from the gate before Serf, rolling forward at full speed, barreled through the gate. Nerves kept Cremia plastered to Van. She quickly shoved off him and noticed he covered his face in that way he does when he doesn't want anybody to see him blush. It was quite often as far as Cremia was concerned. The entire double-door gate was ripped from whatever bolting supported it. The gate spun through the air and landed somewhere in the hedge maze.

Serf suffered the same fate. Goron racers never really knew the practicality of slowing down quickly so whatever method the expert racer used to slow down failed him. Continuing at a still-blistering speed, Serf charged down the stairs followed by his shout of "WOOOHHH!!!"

'That's not good' ran through the other five minds. They ran down the wooden steps shouting Serf's name and variations of 'Stop!!' Serf's shout became softer and muffled by bowling over shrubberies. Van touched down on the Earthy floor of the hedge maze first. One by one the group reached the bottom of the steps and paused, gaping mouth varying between the individual. Serf's momentum had caused him to punch right through the hedge maze wall. And the one after that. And the one after that and the one after that. In fact, the other side of the hedge maze was visible from where they stood. Shrugs were exchanged before the group bee-lined through the hedge maze in pursuit of Serf.

The Goron's stop was a very abrupt one. Sure, a large ominous opening had been reached, but Serf was slightly to the left of it. Only his lower half was visible as his upper half was lodged in the stone wall.

"Wiggle your foot if you're okay!" Zenkit called.

The foot wiggled.

"I'd say that we'd need our strong man to help him out…" Van coughed, "But that IS our strong man that needs help."

Moving on was a nice thought, but in all decency leaving Serf there surrounded by stone just did not seem right. Two people took to a leg and pulled as hard as they honestly could. Serf, however, is unmatched in the Goron racing when it comes to speed. He was going well and fast when he collided with the wall and was wedged in tight.

It seemed hopeless until Tingle, the only one not tall enough to pull, brought up that he had a special 'lubricant' that would help in pulling Serf out. With renewed vigor the four pullers took their leg. Tingle told them to pull and not stop until the 'lubricant' had been applied and Serf was free. Tingle floated in the air and without warning tossed a Tingle Bomb into the wall above Serf. The wall shuddered and splintered a bit which shook things up for Serf to be narrowly pulled out.

After being demanded why he didn't mention that his 'lubricant' was a BOMB, Tingle replied, "If Tingle said 'bomb,' you would not have agreed to it, yes?" He was admittedly correct.

Serf picked himself up and breathed in deep. Rocks were a delicacy for Gorons, but not when they were surrounded by a solid wall. An 'Ewww...' from Zenkit alerted the Goron that he was riddled with bleeding scratches from various hedge thorns. "How about that?" he gasped to Van, "I busted down the gate… and I skipped over finding our way through that hedge maze! That's worth… two right there!"

"Two?" Van echoed. He looked around with a raised eyebrow until he spotted Nesira and Zenkit specifically not being near each other. "Oh. Yes. We're over that, though. You can believe it if you want. But seriously I think you should sit down before you pass out from blood loss! I don't know what all your stories tell you, but take it from me… things that indicate mortality like bleeding are not to be taken lightly under my command, are we clear?" As Serf comprehended, Van pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he wished he had never brought up that figure of speech earlier.

The Goron nodded slowly and simply lifted his feet up. He landed with a large thump that threatened the balance of anything on two legs. As he sat he looked around. For the first time he noticed that the music was loud enough that it sounded like it was coming from right next to him. If that were so, was somebody or something playing it or were they just Magical Woods?

As they rested a billowing darkness took advantage of the gate's forceful opening.

-

The large entranceway past the hedge maze lead into a hallway riddled with markings of a foreign language. The hallway lead to what Tingle called a 'main room,' which he claimed was characteristic of all 'dungeon-type' maps. The main room was most notable for the largest tree any of the six had seen right in the center. At the bottom of the room a pool of water constantly kept the tree's roots hydrated. The room was overall circular in shape with only dock-like planks attached to the walls to navigate the room with. Oddly enough to boards supported the weight of five (Tingle opts to float) including the still-heaviest Serf.

Van cranked his head up. He could see the top of the tree barely below the roof of the stone dome. "Surveillance!" he called, "Uh, that is, Tingle. See if you can float to the top of the room and take a look around. We can go two ways and I don't want to split if it can be helped."

"Yes, sir!" The little green man saluted and more balloons inexplicably rooted from his back and carried him higher. Tingle floated down after a good look and a pause to draw some more. "The water, sir! There is a pool but there is… how to say… a vein of water that goes out one way! At the top of the tree there is a space inside that Tingle has yet to see inside!"

"We follow the water flow!" Cremia realized aloud with a start, if not just to get to that solution before Van had.

"Oh no, Miss. The planks are very well built, see? And outside this circle of a room the tunnels are small. Two walls, a ceiling, and the floor without any way to see the water below them. What if you went the wrong way? Tragedy!"

Zenkit struck a hand up, "No problem! Water is my element! I can take the low path through the water and tell you guys where to go if we hit any forks!"

That arrangement was quickly agreed to. Zenkit leapt into the water (which she found to be absolutely pristine) and swam into the narrow opening where the water seemed to flow down from. The rest of the group stuck to walking on the planks. Like Tingle had mentioned, the structure of this new area was one large main room with square tunnels carved into the walls that snaked around the main room and interacted with the large tree in the center. The square tunnels were small and narrow which caused Serf the need to hunch a little bit. In reality the tunnels were much taller but the planks cut the height to a fraction. Zenkit was having the time of her life flying through the water stream below the planks. The makeshift floor was not enough to keep sound from traveling so Zenkit kept tabs by calling up to the rest.

The Zora would call 'Right!' or 'Left!' when asked where to go. Oddly enough Tingle was right again. The path occasionally forked and only Zenkit, who saw the water either flow from the right or the left, knew the proper way to go as was supposed by Cremia.

After one such occasion where Zenkit instructed to go left Nesira picked up a fallen piece of the ceiling and looked to the right. "What would happen if we went the 'wrong way,' huh?" The Gerudo tossed the slab of material down the opposite way.

After the slab crossed the threshold from the fork into officially being down the opposite way, it vanished. Nesira was unfortunate enough to see a black wretched hand claim the object. She felt like seeing that hand also grabbed off a part of her soul. No reference to Grasshopper intended.

Tingle excitedly pointed out that if the next fork hooked right that they would be back in the main room, but higher up. Sure enough the wooden planks lead right and just as surely the corner was bright as the light source from the main room brightened the end of the quadrilateral tunnel. The water flow, however, kept going on. Zenkit leapt from the water to rejoin the group.

A drawbridge blocked the way into the main room. If anybody did not want other people to reach the top of the big tree in the center, they sure were taking the effort to bar passage as often as possible.

"It's up to me again!" Serf pounded his chest, "I'll knock this thing down!"

Serf backed up to gain room but stopped when he felt Nesira's hand on his back. The Gerudo shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You'll knock it down all right. Completely down! We actually want to use this one."

"Right there." Van spoke. He can Cremia peered through the wooden boards that composed the drawbridge. Van pointed toward a network of ropes that circled the main room.

Cremia psyched herself for her first real act of using a bow-and-arrow. She gingerly positioned the arrow so that it would fly through the boards and still hit part of the circle of ropes. All twelve eyes watched hushed when Cremia did let the arrow go. True to the shooter's intent, the arrow pierced the air all the way until it pierced the rope. It hit the wall with a 'clack!' and fell to the bottom of the main room.

The rope, however, began to quickly slip back in both directions. Without a complete rope keeping tension, the bridge was victim to gravity and dragged the two halves of the rope with it. The bridge leaned and fell. The far side of the drawbridge came to rest at what appeared to be a circular opening leading into the tree. Tingle had mentioned that the tree had been hollowed out in some places into 'rooms' of their own.

The inside of the tree looked exactly how one would expect the inside of a hollow tree to look. Entirely circular and the walls were lined with smooth wood with age rings. On the other side of the tree sat a short bipedal creature snoozing.

"Is that…" Nesira squinted, "A Skull Kid?" At the mention of his species the Skull Kid woke up with a start. He gasped and looked around at all the different people before him. When Cremia tried to lean forward and talk to him the Skull Kid shrieked and ran away onto another drawbridge and into another wall tunnel. "That was rude." Nesira sighed.

Cremia stood straight with thoughtful apprehension. "Was it afraid of us? I wonder why?"

There was no time to wonder as the woodland sprites attacked.

To be more specific a, for the lack of a better word, swarm of forest spirits began to enter that specific room of the tree. These, once again only using split second terminology, sprites were admittedly different than any fantastic apparition known thus far. Their appearance was that of a young woman wearing upper body garment made of leaves and a short skirt also made of leaves. Every aspect on them, besides the whites of their eyes and their teeth, was some shade of green.

Also to say that they attacked would not be immediately seen from an objective point of view. They would appear to only be eager to play. To the unsuspecting group, however, it was a full-on assault.

The sprites could not talk but they could giggle and laugh playfully. They also held little regard for personal space which may have been the reason why their actions were perceived as hostility.

One sprite was especially fond of Cremia's bun. Since the sprites all let their dark green hair down seeing hair tied up in a way was different. Unlike normal people, different was apparently wonderful and the sprite found no reason not to put a hand on Cremia's shoulder for leverage while she felt around the bun.

Serf tried his best to lightly swat a few away but only found each arm with a sprite grasping on. When he tried to shake them off they only held on tighter and found the fast movement more of a reason to be entertained than to be frightened.

Zenkit squeaked with a purple-faced indignation when she found her hand spread apart and the sprites poked at the webbing between her fingers. A particularly curious sprite took interest in why Zenkit's chest was a single wide rising instead of two objects and prodded the middle of the chest while giggling at the rubbery texture.

The lack of regard for chests even passed on to Nesira. Even she felt too awkward to try and do something violent. A sprite found the Gerudo's breastplate of utter importance and felt over the arcane surface. Nesira would have found it more appalling if her attention wasn't divided between that and one sprite tugging at her wide-cuffed pants and another tugging at her hair to compare the color to its own. Oddly enough both verdant locks were of more than similar hues.

Tingle had it a little better when his size made him all the more huggable. The good feeling ended when the sprite found his quill and held it up high, savoring the light feel of the feather. Tingle tried to rise up in a balloon to reclaim his tool but the sprite buzzed its wings to beat Tingle's height, then descended and laughed at Tingles confusion.

Van, being the only man close to their shape, garnered particular interest. The sprites marveled at how similar he was to them and yet how different. They squeezed his arms and noticed that instead of a slender and smooth arm underneath there was a subtle texture of muscle and it interested them. It interested them a lot. They tried to pull off Van's jacket but that seemed to be the only thing that he would not have happen. He clamped his hands on the opposite sleeves as the sprites tried to pull his jacket off. They even tried flying to pull with more force but Van would not have it. He even managed to overlook the sprite trying to figure out why the front of his pants was different than Cremia's and Nesira's.

The final straw came when a sprite leaned its face toward Van's and rubbed its nose to his. He tried to tilt his head out of any way but found certain bliss in his current predicament. The sprite's nose slid down Van's and closed the space between them. At that point Cremia had had it. With a series of action more intuitive than anything else she found the strength to shrug the sprites off of her and reach for her bow in a single swift movement. With the simple letting go of the bow string her actions left her control.

The fast whizzing of the arrow followed by the dull thud into the arm of the sprite at Van's face were very out of place amongst the sprites who were only looking to play. The sprite reeled back and let out a juvenile screech. The screech, an expression of misery, seemed to be very out of place among the sprites. The wounded sprite fell back into the arms of her sisters and almost fainted. From there she simply cried.

The sprites sat in a tight huddle looking at the arrow-embedded arm with red blood slowly seeping out. It was akin to seeing a bunch of kids holding interest when one of them pricked a finger badly. The indications of mortality were terrible, yet a fascination was held. Usually parents would run by and grab their children away to take them away from the red blemish in a rose-colored world.

The six non-sprites in the room brushed themselves off and readjusted articles of clothing. They looked at the group of sprites, one of them sobbing bitterly.

Zenkit broke the relative silence, "You'd think none of them were ever hurt before."

"You know what…" Van sighed with both pity and envy, "I don't think they have."

Tingle floated near Cremia's head. "It was excessive, Miss. The arrow."

Cremia didn't need to look to Tingle to feel any worse. For a moment red-hot jealousy pushed her. The need for painful retribution snowballed higher and higher until there seemed to be no alternative except to make the sprite pay for unearthing these emotions. Was this what it was like to be consumed by a malicious intent? As a ranch owner, Cremia never experienced what it was like to be angry enough to want to hurt somebody else. Sure, the Gormans got on her nerves, but she opted to elude them both in town and when they tried to assault her carriage during deliveries.

How did Grasshopper do it? The though hit Cremia. Grasshopper has put himself before many a person who wanted to harm him or those he cared about, yet never did Grasshopper completely lose his temper or experience an irreversible lapse in judgment. Always he exercised utmost restraint and even tried to help those who wanted to cause harm. His use of force was always to the absolute minimum that the situation merited. Was it due to her upbringing? Had she been so sheltered from such situations that she felt she had to imitate great fictional heroes and use violence to solve any given dilemma? How did Grasshopper do it?

It came to her in a flash. Grasshopper was not blameless. Nobody was. How, then, could Grasshopper, with only pure intentions, use black actions like violence and still feel that he lives virtuously? As if to answer her, Cremia remembered what she was in this huge tree for in the first place. Healing… redemption. Grasshopper uses violence and other acts of malice for a greater good. An action will always be good or bad, but intent can change. Cremia looked at the crying sprite and knew that what she did yielded nothing good. She hurt the sprite and for a selfish reason that didn't even make sense to her.

One may question how the hand that strokes a sword can also apply a bandage, but simply put a person who can only do one or the other is two dimensional and too simplistic to truly know what it is to live. Those who truly fight to stop evil forces and succeed do not do so only by using what is considered good, but they must derive from the darker side if they wish to harm it. Unbiased by society views, these truths were not a great revelation but just natural to Grasshopper. Was it possible that a lack of upbringing to be an upstanding citizen has made him a greater person than any properly raised man?

Cremia did not know if she could atone for what she did, but any attempt will yield better success than no attempt at all. She reached for her medical kit at her waist. "I want to help her." After seeing the sprite cry pathetically for so long, there were no objections. Cremia tried to cross over to the wounded sprite, but the other sprites saw her approach and acted. They stood in front of the wounded sprite and stared at Cremia tensely. Cremia stopped. Every stare was another accusation stabbed into her heart. "I want to help out!!" Cremia insisted. The sprites were unmoving. They truly had it stuck in their minds that Cremia only presented hostility.

A growl came from behind Cremia. "Didn't you pixies or whatever you are hear her?! She wanted to help! Move!" Nesira stomped forth in front of Cremia and pulled the sprites aside, breaking their line. The Gerudo then pushed the sprites away until nothing stood between Cremia and the wounded sprite, still feeling her arm with disbelief and crying.

There it was again. If not for Nesira, Cremia would not have passed the wall of sprites. How dumb. Cremia wanted to do something bad with bad intentions and she succeeded spectacularly. Then she wanted to do something good with good intentions and she failed miserably. Nesira did something bad with good intentions and at least got the job done. Why is it that the low path is so easy yet taking the high road was such a dent in the ego, becoming relatively the least wise of the two options? All that thinking was killing Cremia. When thoughts turn from facts to faith, everything starts to get confusing. She decided to just do what was in front of her: Help the sprite she hurt. No wondering about the implications, just do it.

Cremia kneeled down to the sprite who was sitting with her legs hugged close and her face buried in them. The sprite noticed the new shadow over her and looked. The sprite looked up to Cremia with red eyes and saw what she only perceived to be her attacker. She gasped deeply and tried to nudge herself away. "No! Please…" Cremia pleaded, but quickly asked herself if she had been listening to any of what her mind just went through. Just like does so to Romani with a scraped knee, Cremia reached out and grabbed the Sprite's wounded arm. The sprite emitted a few whining yelp and tried to pull her arm away. Either Cremia's grip was that good or the sprite was that weak, but she only tugged the arm and Cremia kept her ground. Eventually the sprite just stopped struggling and sat cross-legged, its eyes squeezed shut for some incoming pain.

A sigh escaped Cremia. Romani was easy to restrain since it was her sister, but Cremia had actually been the cause of this one's misery. The sigh was both of relief that the sprite was cooperating and one of effort spent since grabbing the arm was enough. She pulled the arm closer until the embedded arrow was directly in front of her. It wasn't far into the arm at all. In fact, a good tug pulled the arrow out without threatening anything. The wounded sprite opened its eyes a little and noticed why there was no more uncomfortable metal in her arm. Cremia single-handedly rooted through her kit and produced a red potion. Apparently red potion worked both through digestion and superficial application. Cremia dabbed the red liquid onto the arrow wound. The sprite involuntarily gave a swoon of pleasure at the healing touch.

The difficult part was over. Now all Cremia had to do was tie a bandage on and the sprite would be fine. At least by her standards. She slipped a bandage out of the kit and slid it down the sprite's slender arm. The sprite and her sisters, already having forgotten about the arrow shot and the pain, simply looked in fascination as Cremia tightened the bandage around the wound.

As soon as Cremia let go of the sprite she lifted herself off the ground. She floated toward her sisters and held out her arm. Apparently they haven't seen anything for wearing other than leaf-based garments. The bandage was both a healing tool and an accessory. The bandaged sprite moved her arm like a cucco wing both to wave out the soreness and to show her bandage off.

As soon as they came, the sprites decided that play time was over and began to flock out of the hallowed space. The bandaged sprite decided to hang around. She fluttered over to Cremia. In an act of affection and gratitude, the sprite kissed Cremia on the cheek before following her sisters out. Not knowing how she ought to react, Cremia's cheeks tinted red at the show. "You're… welcome." She muttered in a tiny voice.

-

There was a rather hollow feel to the room after the sprites left. They were so cheerful and childlike that it felt like a breath of fresh air just blew out the window. Shrugging off that feeling, and relentless comments from Nesira that Cremia would marry one of the sprites when she grew up, the purpose of the expedition rose up again and the group carried on.

In a much similar fashion to before the encounter, Zenkit took care in diving into the downward flow of the water. She swam against the current and directed the rest of the group up on the planks. Since the entire process and the penalty for a wrong turn have been covered, there is no point in relating it again.

This second tunnel lead up to a drawbridge that was actually down. This drawbridge lead into another room hollowed out at the very top of the tree's trunk. If there was any point in traveling all this way, it would be in that topmost room. Teeming with anticipation, the group hastened into the hole.

At this point the unexpected was to be expected, but of course nobody expected what was inside the topmost room. Like the previous hollowed out area, the walls were circular and smooth. The floor, however, like the top of a log, was covered in little samples of everything one would find in a forest ranging from leafy plants to moss to fungal growth.

At the far side of the room was what could only be described as a tree throne. On the tree throne sat a majestic woman. Her form was blameless and covered in a robe consisting of leaves. Even though her hair flowed in a dark green, her skin color, unlike the sprites from before, was the same as Cremia's or Van's. She looked upon the six new faces that entered the room with eyes that looked like the top of a tree when seen from above.

Behind her throne a familiar face tried to stay hidden.

Serf, not having done or said much since busting a gate down, took it upon himself to notice first. "Isn't that that Skull kid from before?"

"That's them!!" The Skull Kid cried out to the woman on the throne. "They're the ones trying to take all the purity out of this place!"

"Take the- WHAT!?" Nesira huffed. She looked to the woman up front, "Ma'am, may I have permission to be alone with that thing for five minutes?"

The woman looked from the skull kid. Her expression showed nothing negative. No intolerance, no patience, no ill will whatsoever. "Thank you." She said. She made a peaceful gesture accompanied by a little bow. "Thank you all for coming to visit us here. Myself, Flora. My children…" The sprites from before lingered out the exit watching, "And of course our dear Skull Kid."

Nesira scoffed. "A woman dressed in green holding domain over a large area of plants… named Flora. Saw that coming from far away."

Flora tittered at Nesira's comment but walked over to Cremia. "Ah… you must be the one who healed my child."

Cremia looked out and saw one of the green arms wearing the bandage. She could just hear that screech of pain and betrayal again. "… But I was also the reason why she needed healing."

"Hmm, hmm…" Flora touched her fingertips together while she looked at Cremia try to avoid her gaze. "I am no fool. Blissful, yes, but not in a state of inebriation. I know that owning up to something you have done wrong and making it better is difficult. Therefore, I hold you in high regard for your ability to do so."

"Oh… thank you."

Flora nodded. "In fact, it is amazing that any of you are here. This is a place of healing and rest for the weary. Any who tire from the endless maze of the surrounding woods may find solace here. Our first and only visitor thus far is the Skull Kid. He returns our love so much that he has devised a way to keep out people who wish to abuse our generosity or keep it for themselves."

Nesira still kept a sharp gaze on the Skull Kid. "More like keep it for himself…"

"The hedge maze, sir!" Tingle spoke up. "The hedges, and the drawbridges Within! The Skull sir, yes!"

Serf made a mouth noise, "Yeah, but how do you think he made those evil arm things?"

"Evil Arms?" The Skull Kid spoke up, "What evil arms? There are no arms in my traps!"

"Don't kid us, you empty skull! I tossed a rock down every wrong way and shadowy arms reached out and grabbed it! You could give a kid nightmares with something like that!" Nesira ought to know.

Flora seemed offset by the mention of the arms. "Shadowy… did you people close the gate after you when you went through it?"

The image of the gate soaring through the air from Serf's violent roll played in all six minds. "Eh… no." Van eventually answered.

Flora's face paled. "Oh," she uttered with her head hung, "oh… no…" She swiftly stood and leaned over the fountain in the middle of the hollowed room. The water surface's reflection did not show her face, but an image of the outside of the entrance into the grotto. What she saw immediately revealed the reason for her alarm.

A thick black wisp billowed through the space that the gate used to occupy. It followed through the holes Serf had punched through the hedge maze and continued to flow through the stone entrance. Flora looked up from the reflection. She hopped around the fountain and bee-lined for the exit of the room. When Flora was gone the group of six surrounded the fountain to see the dark spectacle for themselves.

"What is it?" Zenkit inquired, never having seen anything so ominous reflected off water.

Any guess was drowned out by a loud whining shout of frustration. The Skull Kid clutched its head in a dismayed dance. "You… you idiots! Rapists!! Don't you know what you have done?! That gate was magical! Blessed! It kept it out! This, a place of such purity on one end begs the existence of another! What Miss Flora has not told you is that, a darkness, no, Darkness itself has wanted to ruin this grotto ever since the goddess Farore grew it and incarnated a bit of herself in Flora!"

"Goddess… Farore?" Cremia echoed.

Van narrowed his eyes. Four of the group exchanged looks, not knowing what the last thing the Skull Kid meant, but Van and Nesira looked at the Skull Kid as if he spoke a little too much for his own good. "I'm sure it's some sort of grotto legend." Van quickly spoke.

"What? No! I'm talking about one of the three goddess-!"

"Anyway!!" Nesira cut in, "What about this Darkness you speak of?"

"D-do I need to say anything more?! Darkness normally stays dormant or infiltrates the minds of the weak to bring about ruin in every sense of the word, but it has taken the most physical form it can to directly wipe this grotto which threatens it off the face of Termina!"

"Like hell it will!" The Gerudo hit her fist into her palm. "I'll tear that concept a new one if it means making up for what Serf did!"

"Me!?" Serf demanded rhetorically. "Hey, hey, even if we got it open normally we still would have left it open! Don't pin this on me!"

"It doesn't matter!" Van growled, "The point is that this grotto is being assaulted and if there is any way to do anything about it, we should utilize it! Come on!"

At the call the group piled out the hole in the tree. Since there were no forks going down, it was a simple mad dash to the outside.

-

To look at the hedge maze now one would swear that there had been no hedge maze to begin with. Everything from the walls to the shriveled plant life was now flat and a sickly shade of tan. The death was confined to after the gate and before the entrance to the grotto, but it was still a sad sight to behold.

All over the place creatures wandered around chopping down hedges and other plants with blood soaked axes. Their bodies were a dark color and resembled a night but their heads were of pigs.

"Moblins!" Van gasped.

"Whats??" Zenkit demanded.

The response back startled Van. Nesira shot him a look that told him he was an idiot. Van replied without stalling, "I've only read about them. I guess they're real after all!"

At the center of the chaos Flora stood still. She only moved her arms. At her motioning a vine would constrict a Moblin and squeeze it until it burst into a black smoke or some other act of plant-based self defense. Most of the time, however, these attacks were backfired when a Moblin chopped the plan in two. Flora winced with an emotional pain every time it happened.

"This has to end! Split up!" Van shouted out. The group of six separated into their own plot of land to begin fighting off Moblins in. Van ran up to Flora who appeared to be in less than decent shape. "Are you okay?"

Flora gave a miserable moan. "They're so… malicious. They exist only to hurt. Why…?"

"I don't know. But those who only cause detriment cannot be allowed to do as they please. At some point the complaining and griping has to stop and the action has to start! We don't know if we can best them, but we will try."

"Thank you…" Flora sat down weakly.

Flora's sit revealed that a Moblin had been behind her and prepared to strike with its axe. Van's positioned pit him too far away to act in time. Fortunately an arrow whizzed from an angle and struck the Moblin, dissolving it in black smoke.

"Thanks!" He said and passed Flora's sentiment on to Cremia. When he turned to her, he noticed her reserved and stiff stance. "Cremia… are you okay?"

"Uh?" The ranch owner left her preoccupation. She had trained herself to see battle. Prior to setting out, she imagined facing down opponents intent on killing her. As now proved, it all came out to little. The most action she'd seen was fighting her way through ReDeads a year ago. She had Tingle to thank for covering her, and she never actually had been the target of an assault during. Now, these were… monsters! Intelligent, armed to bear, and this was a free-for-all. There was nothing orderly, honorable, or just with what was going on. Cremia could say that she was prepared, but now…

No! "I'm good!" She responded at last. Better late than never. Up until Grasshopper had arrived, the worst she had seen was the occasional Gorman attack on her milk. Compared to everything that's happened to her after that, she's become many times stronger. It's time that she put some of that to use and be strong for Grasshopper!

Content with Cremia's resolve, Van looked off and saw Serf bowl over a Moblin. The young Goron unfurled in time to turn around and see a Moblin appear right in front of him, which he abruptly drove his fist through. "I can see. These things are a pack… and a pack has a leader. If we could find a Moblin of stature, not unlike the leader of the aliens you told me about, we can end this."

As if on cue, a large line of darkness cut through the treetops and landed directly in front of Van. The line compacted and expanded to show the form of a Moblin that was twice the size of a regular one.

"Too soon!" Cremia gasped, her resolve taking a hit and recovering seamlessly. She backed away holding Flora along with her. Even if the large Moblin were a "normal" size, its different design made it fiercer looking. It held a red-soaked trident and wore a blood-colored cape.

"Can't be…" Van mused over the alleged leader, pale. Looking past whatever initial impression he had of the Moblin, he figured his first premonition had been incorrect. "No… it's just a larger Moblin." He noticed it shift forward. "It's targeting Flora!"

"Got 'er!" Came a quick voice. With a flash of brown and green, Nesira grabbed Flora and easily carried the woman out of harm's way.

Any sighs of relief were short lived. The large Moblin caught on to the situation. It knew that those immediately in front of him would bother him until he dealt with them. Thusly, the Moblin brandished its trident and stomped with its back foot, rooting itself in the spot.

"Stand your ground!!" Van called aside to Cremia.

Cremia noticed that Van had instructed her to join in the fight against the large Moblin instead of telling her to run and pick a smaller fight. He must be seeing something in the fight that Cremia could contribute. She relied on her fledgling but strong trust in Van and stood firmly next to him. This was it, iron nerves from here on.

The Moblin decided that the strongest-looking of his opponents ought to be his first target so he brought back his trident in a way that clearly targeted Van. Van stood ready with his sword even though his eyes flicked back and forth from the Moblin to Cremia. She got the cue. As fast as her training and observation allowed her, Cremia loaded up an arrow and let it fly in one smooth motion. The arrow came to a stop right between the Moblin's eyes. The Moblin snarled and swat the arrow off with only a drop or so of bleeding to mark the feat.

Van looked just as surprised as Cremia. It made sense that if one is struck between the eyes, they ought to be defeated or at least severely debilitated. None of these described the Moblin. In fact, the Moblin now had a more pressing bone to pick with Cremia. Without delay the Moblin switched targets and thrust at Cremia. Unfortunately for the Moblin, Cremia's slender build allowed for a simple step to the side to perfectly dodge between the pointed bars. She opened her squinted eyes to see the pointed edges in front and in back of her and more importantly not in her.

Relief never lasted long when the Moblin decided that swatting Cremia with the trident was just as good as impaling her. With a sharp movement the Moblin shifted the trident over, carrying Cremia with it. Cremia left the confines of the trident and came to land uncomfortably a few feet away. Van shouted Cremia's name with concern but felt absolved when he saw her pick herself up with a little bit of fatigue shivering. Apparently the mulch remains of the hedge maze made for a softer landing.

The Moblin gaped with a morbid disappointment at Cremia's painful but not fatal landing. It gave Van the perfect opportunity to strike while the creature wasn't looking. He delivered a nonspecific slash into the Moblin's hide that cut through the cape to put a deep gash and spill plenty of oddly colored blood. At that point, the Moblin's enraged shout indicated that Cremia was no longer in his consideration.

She'd show him, though. She stood up tall, pulled an arrow from her quiver, and… questioned the futility. She already tried an arrow and it only provided a step back. It was a good idea when they thought she'd actually be of any use, but evidence proved otherwise. It was sweet of Van to try it in the first place…

Okay, why was she thinking about that now!?

"Catch!" Came the call that brought Cremia back down as she raised her free hand to accept the passing off of an urn. The passer, Nesira, turned away to attend to other matters while calling back, "I dunno what it is, but Flora said you should have it!"

Cremia still stood and wondered what that was all about. She looked inside the urn to see it filled up with pristine water. Why would Flora give this to her? Urn in one hand, arrow still drawn in the other, Cremia decided to take a stab in the dark, or more specifically into the water. She turned the arrow point-down and dipped it into the water. She didn't expect anything grand like the arrow bursting with light energy. Unfortunately for that skepticism, that is exactly what happened. As the arrowhead sunk into the water, the metallic tip was stripped of every grain of dirt, every stain, even every smudge mark until it reflected light brilliantly to the point that it must have been producing some of that light itself. When withdrawn, the arrow shined with a light that was both pure and strong. Though Cremia could have marveled at the Light Arrow longer, she knew what it was for.

The lead Moblin had Van fighting defensively. Now Cremia would show him. She hilted and drew back the arrow like any other. The glow in the arrow spread out and created an orb of light around the arrowhead. An amazing sight, but now was not the time to contemplate the 'why' and 'how' of the situation. The lead Moblin caught the light and knew what was coming. He turned and lumbered toward Cremia.

"Too little too late." The crimson-haired woman too low to be heard. A second later she let fate take the Light Arrow.

No truer an aim could have carried the arrow. It sailed on a perfectly linear path directly into the lead Moblin's face. This time, the arrow vanished into what could only be described as a burst of light. The arrow's victim roared with pain and fear at its loss of sight. Its free hand flew over its face while the hand holding the trident struck directly out.

This was the golden moment. Van paced toward the lead Moblin as it stood in its blind stupor. Though it could not see, the Moblin could hear and smell, and by that it found Van somewhere behind it. The monster pitched its trident into the whiteness behind it. With no confidence behind the strike, it was simple to dodge. Van easily saw the signs of how the lead Moblin would attack and dodged with no room left for error. The attack came out sour and the lead Moblin kneeled. Van saw the climax of the opportunity and placed his foot on the lead Moblin's knee. With a tremendous effort on that one leg, he heaved himself up and even above the lead Moblin's head. With what little sight it had, the lead Moblin looked up to see the spectacle. Van descended, both hands on the hilt, and drove his sword directly into the lead Moblin's forehead.

The lead Moblin emitted some mouth noise when the sword fell, but the struggle was far over by that time. The swift blow echoed and stopped the fight where it was heard. Silence reigned as all head turned to see Van pull his sword out of the lead Moblin's. The trident fell and the lead Moblin's body evaporated into thin wisps until the entire body just degenerated into black smoke all at once.

Nobody knew what to expect at first, but they did not expect anything perfect like every Moblin to freak out and run away to happen. Unfortunately for that skepticism, that is exactly what happened. Cries of terror rose up from the Moblins and each of them ran and maybe dropped its weapon. All non-Moblins were astonished to see all of the massive number just up and leave. None more relieved than Van, who nearly fell forward if he hadn't been caught by Cremia. She too was tired, so she was just content keeping him from falling on his face while they both caught their breath.

As soon as the last Moblin had beat a panicked retreat through the entrance from the Magic Woods, the Skull kid appeared from behind a new gate and slammed it shut. How a new gate was found and how the Skull Kid was able to set it up during the fight was beyond everybody else.

-

"L-look at this!!" The Skull Kid demanded, holding its irate arms out to encompass the state of the grotto resulting from the darkness's invasion. "Marked – everywhere! Some things are withering. I swear, if I see any murkiness in the water… This is why I set all those security measures! So this worst-case scenario wouldn't happen!"

Flora and the sprites were all audience to this berating. As far as Cremia, Van, Serf, Zenkit, and Tingle were concerned, they really had nothing to say in response. Lucky is the one who would ever see the likes of Nesira at a loss for words, though.

The half gerudo approached the Skull Kid with a swagger about her hips in a feminine fashion. One would imagine she would try to sweet-talk the Skull Kid into forgiving her and her group. Then one would remember just who it is that's being talked about. Her face ignited into an irate equaling the Skull Kid's. She grabbed the Skull Kid by the top of its head and lifted it up to her face level. "Here's some news! Those alleged security measures are what caused the darkness to get stopped up and gather in intensity! In fact, I think it's good that we came here soon enough and Serf knocked down that gate!"

Serf heaved an exasperated sigh and Zenkit nervously laid a consoling webbed hand on his back.

"That is absolutely-!" The Skull kid began, but the second he stopped to consider opened his mind enough to let the whole truth in.

He remembered when he first entered the hallowed grotto and saw it for its beauty. When he bluntly pointed out some flaws in the tree's hide or a plant tinged a little brown, Flora had not minded at all, saying that that no haven is perfect. The Skull Kid, however, did not believe her. The grotto was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, and it proved that there was purity somewhere in the world. He wanted this purity preserved forever. Thus, he locked the gate instead of just having it closed, he designed the hedge maze that he convinced Flora was just for amusement, and he propped up the drawbridges connecting the areas in the grotto.

As the Skull Kid lived with Flora and the sprites, he began to notice the darkness brewing outside the gate. It tried to pass, but the lock held firm. At the same time, every blemish in the grotto had vanished and it remained a place of purity. This caused the sprites to become blissful to a fault. Flora, though astute, remained unaware. All she noticed was that the Skull Kid was the only visitor for a long time. The Skull Kid never drew parallels between his security and the billowing darkness. In fact, he felt that he had set the security up just in time to avoid an onslaught. All he had really done was stop the flow of ill from entering the grotto. Instead of a few dry leaves and age rings, a whole army of evil creatures attacked! What would have happened if the darkness had been allowed to gather for longer? A thought worthy of a shudder, indeed.

The Skull Kid lowered his head and muttered, "Right…" which may or may not have also been intended to finish the sentence he had left hanging.

Where the Skull Kid had been glad Flora was there to see the exposure of villainous deeds, the set-up had now turned in on itself and now the Skull Kid himself had been exposed for what he had been doing. "Security measures, Skull Kid?" the serene woman inquired.

Time to bite the arrow. "Y-yeah! Flora, I love this place. I want to protect it! I know how to respect all the plants and water here, but I don't trust anybody else to do the same! I just know other people will try to take advantage and cause harm to this place."

Without faltering or letting her mouth fall from an upward curve to either side, Flora quickly responded, "Much like you have?"

A stab to the heart for sure. Once more the Skull Kid was ejected from the here and now to look back and saw every action in a new light. Take advantage? Well, he's never seen the wood sprites play with anybody else before this day, and he was sure he was the only one born from outside the grotto to enjoy any of the food that grows there. Cause harm? He's already been down that line of thinking before.

"I failed to keep selfish people from taking advantage of the grotto the very moment I vowed to protect it!"

"I'll say." Nesira muttered, preceding receiving Van's light fist to her gut from the side.

When Flora reached a hand out, the Skull Kid once again flinched against incoming punishment. Her hand landed on his head, but not to lift him like Nesira had. Instead she merely offered the touch affectionately. She still smiled.

"Do not feel like you are the first one to act as you did. Love can bring about great things as much as unintended harm. I know you wanted what was best for the grotto, but it is not in the nature of living things to remain perfect forever. They hurt, and they heal. I never knew, though, that what waited for us when the gate opened would grow so far, so fast. You were so happy here; I did not want to incite conflict by asking you to remove that gate."

"No… no! Flora! Don't- you're not to blame at all!" cried the Skull Kid, clutching Flora's hand on top of his hat both desperately and trying to comfort.

"… Then it's good," Cremia cut into the moment, eyes cast down at all the wilted foliage and the new sprouts already emerging from the mulch, "it's good that we came, the six of us, so soon. Good for the grotto. I just wish it were for a different reason."

Flora pat the Skull Kid once more before lifting her hand off. "Reason?" she echoed, "Oh! Yes, I never had any opportunity to ask you why you came searching in these Woods of Mystery in the first place?"

"Woods of Mystery?" Serf couldn't help but repeat. At least with the surname 'Magical Woods', the music was magic. Now it was mysterious and he'd be thinking about it for days on end.

It was time for Van to be the leader again. He indicated he had something to say and said, "The reason we came in the first place is that we seek a certain mushroom that, when properly boiled and soaked into a cloth, allows that cloth to heal spiritual wounds."

No sooner than after he started did the familiarity of a green sprite appear from the entrance to the innermost areas of the grotto. She hovered in front of Van and joyfully tittered as she lifted her palms carrying a stereotypical mushroom, the head mostly red except for yellow spots.

Van didn't even have to look it over for long. "This… this is it!" He took the mushroom and held it carefully. "… But I gave such a vague description. How could you have known what I was talking about?"

Flora gave her smile again, this time more sagely than serene. "You were correct in assuming that the music in the Woods of Mystery was there to give all who enter a, ahem, 'fighting chance' of reaching the grotto. You see, the Woods of Mystery hear everything that is said and thought within them." She paused for a moment, which was just long enough to hear Zenkit squeak in embarrassment at the prospect of her thoughts being heard outside her own head. "They know why a person or group has entered. If a person whishes to seek a great power to take advantage of to the detriment of others, the Woods will kindly lead that person out. If he or she gets lost and requires hospitality and rest, the Woods will direct this person to the grotto where rest and nourishment are in abundance."

"Wait… wait… don't tell me." said Nesira and mimed Flora's dreamy demeanor. "'Thus, when you came and wanted to find something to help your friend, the Woods brought you here so that I can give it to you.' Am I close?"

A laugh at Nesira's charm and a nod were what comprised Flora's response, to which Nesira responded in turn, "Of course!"

A sigh at Nesira's charm and a bowed head were what comprised Van's response to Nesira's repeated boldness. "Show a little gratitude, will you? The most tolerable you've been all day is when you were mocking Flora."

Priorities were shuffled back into place when Cremia nudged forward and looked at the mushroom. "We can use this to help Grasshopper?"

"It would appear that your friend knows so, and knows how to do it." Flora looked aside as one does when a conversation has not ended but there is nothing to say for a little bit before finally saying, "So I take it you will be leaving to help this Grasshopper now? We, in the meantime, will finally re-open the grotto for all who come upon it to enjoy."

The Skull Kid was expected to whirl around and call Flora crazy, but instead he look up and aside to her. "Yeah… and if any of those guys gets out of line, I'll be the first to know!"

As compared to the Skull Kid locking up the grotto, the Skull Kid becoming a guard with tricks and traps instead of swords and shields was an improvement.

-

Late in the evening, inside the large pot-shaped potion shop perched before the Woods of Mystery, the keeper Kotake idly stirred a cauldron, almost entirely having forgotten what the swill inside exactly was. The bell on her door ringing snapped her back into reality. She popped off a typical "Oh!" and looked at who entered the door. "Oho! What a lovely couple of visitors! A very handsome young man and… why, you're the girl who own the ranch my sister and I order our milk from! To what do I owe this greatest of pleasures?"

Van only spared time for a standard bow of courtesy to a person well versed in a trade he was not well known in. After that, it was all business. "Good evening. I have obtained this Sacred Mushroom from the Woods of Mystery. I would like to create a Soul Patch using it."

"A Soul Patch, hmm?" said Kotake, "My-my… now what trouble have you gotten yourself into to want a Soul Patch? Such a thing takes a long time and many resources to create."

"A long time? It's for a man named Grasshopper, and he needs it!" spoke up Cremia

"G-!" was all Kotake got out before the name struck a chord fiercely in her memory. "Grasshopper? Koume told me about a young man by that name who did her a great service. He may have received a favor back from her for saving her life, but she is my sister, so I owe this young man a favor for saving my sister! Give me that mushroom!"

Kotake's thin arms struck out and caught the mushroom. Van stepped back at the rapid action. He looked at her drag out a new cauldron of hot water and plop the mushroom in. This begged the question from Van, "Didn't you say that it would take a long time and many resources?"

The hag had already started working in the cauldron as she spoke bluntly. "Oh – hee hee! – I was trying to swindle you, boy!" This brought about a look of scorn from Cremia. "Oh, don't look like that. A pinch of a few of these powders and all it takes is a short time for the mushroom's essence to be simmered into the water. Dunk in any old bandage, and you have yourself a Soul Patch! Yes, that's all!"

Cremia was elated to hear such words, but Van crossed his arms, making those last three words unwarranted for him. "Ah, just like I remember reading. I thought you weren't being truthful when you said it would take a long time."

"Oho!" playfully scoffed Kotake as she continued to stir, "So, you know a thing or two about potions and mixtures?"

The water in the cauldron boiled on and the aroma of the mushroom permeated about the room. Van inhaled and exhaled, smelling the mixture at the same time. "I know about a wide variety of trades… but insofar as spirituality has to do with it."

At this point, visible wisps rose from the cauldron, which Kotake observed in how they reached up. "Now you make sense. You are both people of faith, hmm?"

"M-me??" Cremia responded with a finger pointed up at her chin, "Oh… no! No." She turned her head and expected the same answer from Van.

Rather than opening with a 'no', Van said, "I don't know if 'of faith' would describe it… but I have devoted my passions to understanding the ways of this world's greater realities… both in lore and in the concrete things that affect us directly."

This exposition intrigued Cremia. Sure, she trusted Van and got a feel for how he treats others, but he never let the opportunity to talk about himself in-depth pop up. It never really occurred to her after being around Grasshopper, who literally couldn't talk about himself in-depth at first.

Kotake cackled, "Now that is something I don't hear every day. I don't meet many Terminians who aren't satisfied just tending to their gardens." She leaned her head into the now-billowing mist and sniffed in deep. "Aha! The mixture is right! Right now, this potion is coexisting as a force that alters both the physical and the spiritual plane. Do you have anything you'd prefer to use as a Soul Patch?" The other two exchanged a mutual look of having no preference. Cremia offered up a bandage from the medical pack she carried. "This will well do." Kotake commented with some crooked nods. As one does when washing a garment, Kotake pushed the bandage into the cauldron's mixture.

Apparently, this part of the process required some more concentration, as Kotake expressed an acute concentration for the first time. This left the shop in silence.

"S… so…!" said Cremia suddenly, when the silence was unbearable, "Van… you're religious? It's true that there isn't a whole lot of that in Termina, aside from the legend of the four guardians… which turned out to be true! What is faith like where you're from?"

Van rotated his head toward Cremia, "Ha… isn't that one of those topics you're just not supposed to spring on somebody all of a sudden?"

Cremia inwardly took a step back at the comment. Was this what Van was like in his element? His words were more antagonistic than his demeanor, which assured her that any actual antagonism was in jest. The hard look softened to show this to be true.

"I won't bore you with any of the details, but where I'm from… there's one major faith, and it's just regarded as the way things came about. It's much like things here, apparently. The people are happy enough that dissent rarely rises, and proving greater realities like the Spiritual Plane, the Dark World, and the Twilight Realm are more emphasized. Just for the record, almost all of it is speculation except for the Spiritual Plane which has long since been uncovered by the discovery of the Lens of Truth. Otherwise, only aficionados pursue these things and everybody else…" Van quickly looked to Kotake, "what was it you said? 'Tends to their gardens'?"

"Mm-hmm!" confirmed Kotake, "And no sooner for you to interrupt me, for we now have in our presence a genuine Soul Patch!"

Without a word beforehand, Van sifted through a pocket and pulled out the pair of Lens of Truth glasses. He examined the bandage Kotake pulled out of the cauldron. "Yes," he confirmed, "we've got it!"

At the same time, Cremia felt the relief of success and a sinking in her stomach. The Soul Patch was now theirs and Grasshopper wasn't going to slip away completely, but the Soul Lantern was needed to actually see him up and about, talking and laughing again. Just what was this, some sort of collecting game where random items were worth lives? Cremia made sure that she kept the ultimate goal of reviving Grasshopper clear, and didn't short-sight herself to thinking just about patches, lanterns, medallions, gems, and whatnot.

Cremia had plenty of time to mull this around in her head during the walk from the Owl Statue on Milk road to her house on the Romani Ranch grounds, every invitation to join in on a conversation from the other five not affecting her.

-

It probably was too much to ask that the application of a spirit-saving bandage would be dynamic or flashy in any way. Directly over the other bandage, Van wrapped the Soul Patch around Grasshopper's wound. To the naked eye, it looked like overkill for bandaging, but through the Lens of Truth, the necessity was clear.

"Take a look," Van told the others, Romani among them who vaulted down the stairs and made a pre-emptive statement refusing to go back to bed. Cremia breathed a sigh when she saw nothing smoke-like coming from the wound. She had to explain why that was a good thing to the others who didn't see what Grasshopper had been like before.

"He looks so peaceful." Zenkit, of course, noticed, gently cupping the unmoving young man's cheek with the tips of the fingers on her webbed hand.

"He should," spoke Nesira, "after all he'd been through before that. Going through a misadventure every other day, if not every day, and then that whole year where he couldn't relax, not once." The half-gerudo took no heed when Cremia looked up with moist eyes and began to pay attention, "At least when he got himself into heaps of trouble, he had a pretty girl to go back to and comfort the stresses of the day. During that year, he didn't even have that! I said that I would be a good surrogate farm girl, but he said that didn't feel right. I wasn't Cr-"

"SHUT UP!!!"

Even Nesira's mouth was stilled by the shrill outburst. Cremia sat at the dinner table, hunched over as far as she could go with her palms crushing into her pointed ears. She then lifted her head up and stared at Nesira. It was a piercing, venomous stare. It was a stare that expressed the indiscriminate, prejudiced hatred that one could only feel toward him or herself but a mortal's outward emotions could only let show a fraction of it, which still could be the most horrible and unnecessary thing any person could ever experience. Her voice was deep and disturbingly direct.

"Nobody asked you. Nobody ever asks you. You just talk. Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are to assume you know anything? You know nothing. You know… nothing. You're a fool. An ignorant fool. The next time you want to be so arrogant, so vain, so insecure that you have to be the voice of authority, wait for a question."

The silence that followed pressed against all in the room to unbearable degrees of gravity. Zenkit lifted her hand from Grasshopper's face. Serf's head twitched around, not knowing where to look. Tingle, perched on a chair's arm, looked down at his feet which stopped swinging. Nesira, sitting next to Grasshopper's head, wore an expression of exposure and helplessness, eyes wide and with none of the sharpness they normally wore. Romani, the most wretched in the room, clutched the thigh of Zenkit, who was closest. Van, the closest to Cremia's position, did not change in expression. He wore the same neutral face with his azure eyes fixed on Cremia.

Cremia herself looked ill. As if she had vomited a poison, her face flushed and she became more fatigued than she had ever been before. She looked around at all the faces of the people who had witnessed her at this most weak of moments. She caught the expressions for brief moments before every one avoided her gaze. She didn't even try to look at Van. Instead she ended her survey of the room with Nesira, who held herself and cast her face as low as possible, looking more vulnerable than any person should. Cremia's eyes pleaded with someone, anyone, to hear out an apology, but fell on deaf faces. Alone in her remorse, Cremia heaved a sob into her hand once, then stood up and dashed up the stairs.

Everybody could feel the tension lift at a crawl, but it was Romani who acted first. Inhibition was nothing as the little girl, a few years past a decade old, dropped her hands to her side, tossed her head back and bawled out loud. Unlike Cremia's burst, almost everybody moved to gather around Romani to console her. Zenkit kneeled down and quickly and firmly threw her arms around Romani's neck and rocked her, repeatedly but softly calling for her to calm down. Tingle bounded over to offer a few words. Serf happened to notice that Nesira was also in a state and decided to try and put his big hands on her shoulders to try and shake her out of it. Between Romani's crying, Zenkit's cooing pleas, Tingle's attempts at humor, and Serf trying to get through to Nesira, the scene was chaotic and desperate. All the while, Grasshopper remained still, in the center of it all.

Meanwhile, Van still had not changed in demeanor at all. He sat with an elbow on the table and his chin perched on the attached palm, having watched the entire scene unfold. With no end in sight to Romani's hysteria and no sign of life from Nesira, Van stood. He walked past the madness and rounded about to the stairs. As he climbed, the noise and what it stood for seemed to fade and muffle through the wooden planks of the second floor's single hall. A new crying replaced Romani's, a much softer and more suffering crying. Van walked at a completely casual pace until he stood outside the door frame to Cremia's room. The door had been tossed open and Cremia kneeled before her bed, soaking the sheets with her tears.

Van's entry into the room was entirely unheeded. He walked forward a few paces, but Cremia still did not change. Van turned toward the bed, kneeled himself, and placed his chin on the bed and his hands folded in front of his face. He closed his eyes and held his position.

Cremia's crying slowed to occasional gasps, sniffs, and heavy exhales. She gulped once more and leaned back, supporting a straight spine on her knees. She licked the dryness off her lips and turned her head toward Van. He remained in his devout posture.

"If I had known…" groaned Cremia. She spoke slowly and hardly said two words in normal succession, "If I had known what I was doing to him… If I knew I made him feel that way… I would have stopped. I really would have. I would have looked at him with whimsy and lust again. I would have doted and worried. If I knew what was going to happen… I would have… I'd have appreciated him more."

Van gently parted his hands and leaned back as Cremia had. He faced his entire body, still kneeling, toward Cremia.

"But you know what? I'll bet… I know that he wasn't aware of it. If he knew that the way I treated him after what he'd done was making him feel uneasy… uncomfortable… stressed… He would have said so. He's honest like that. He knows how to be who he is. And I… I… I kept on making him feel horrible. Every day he comes back, hurt, tired, and mentally drained… and I was always there to hear him out… to be a friend… to see him through those stressful times. It's not him… everybody needs something like that. He… he depended on me. And I… I…"

Unable to properly express the next thought, she opted to shout, very loudly, the most profane word that a Terminian considered unsuitable for formal conversation.

"And yet… on that day… he risked his life to save me. As if I'd done nothing to him over that year! As if I hadn't gone to try and replace him or give up on the ranch, as if it were one year back and I hadn't locked him out of my heart… he stepped up when I was in danger. And I… There's so many awful things I could be forced to do to make up for it, but I have the gall to think that finding two damn items is that big of a deal!?" Cremia looked at Van finally, "You must think I'm horrible… don't you? You must have known… Everybody in Clock Town must have known… Just go ahead… go ahead and solve it. Pull out a parable or a saying that condemns what I've done. Kind words are more than, if not the opposite of, what I deserve."

Still, Van's eyes remained unfazed. Cremia found that those blue orbs contained a serenity that matched that of a clear lake's surface. It was an incomprehensible calm that affected the disorder of Cremia's own eyes. Without a word, Van leaned forward and stretched his arms out. Finally, Cremia thought, retribution. She envisioned being strangled, throttled, manhandled violently… but the action was already dealt. Van's arms circled around Cremia's neck and overlapped past her back. He pulled her in an embrace that pressed her chest to his, but nothing came to mind but the contrast of her rapid heart rate and his. Van's arms tightened to a secure hold and he spoke.

"A whole year of tension comes out at once."

Of all things that could have resulted from Van coming in to talk to her, Cremia's bewildered expression told that she could not have expected this. Her arms remained at her sides and her eyes narrowed as new tears, different from before, surfaced and streamed down her face. She thrust her face into Van's chest and screamed into the fabric of his shirt before easing into a moderately audible crying.

-

What happened after Van had come to see her and before she settled into bed was somewhat of a blur for Cremia. She could remember seeing the stairs as she stepped down them slowly, then a bunch of faces look at her. They had all looked away, but now they looked toward her and with attempts at empathy. She then remembered Romani running toward her and then pounding her little fists against her midsection, calling her all sorts of terrible names that no younger sister would call an older sister in earnest. The names faded, and Romani sobbed once more as she had hugged Cremia around the waist. Instinct told Cremia to place her hands on Romani's shoulders and hold her head close.

The only words that stuck in Cremia's memory were those spoken by Nesira who looked at Cremia with soft, red eyes that matched her own.

"I have to admit, lady, you're deeper than the farm folk down home. I've been wrong about you."

The only visual that was absolutely clear in Cremia's memory of that short time was when most of the people had left and she took a long look at Grasshopper laid out. His comfortable position, his serene expression, and the Soul Patch that she'd gone out of her way to secure his life. If not for love, if not for redemption, she'd continue on to get the Soul Lantern just for the sake of Grasshopper's livelihood.

From there, the blurs became even more obscured until they slowed to a halt and Cremia achieved a peaceful mind shortly before sleep took her away again. No more second-guessing. No more inner demons. Her objective has never been clearer and for that brief moment, she relished in the fact that, at that moment, all that was required of her was to sleep.

The took its place behind the mountains and left no light to stir Cremia from her sleep, and neither Romani nor Van, who took his place sleeping upright, facing Grasshopper. It also faded from Tingle's maps, which he couldn't work on now anyway since tears would smudge the ink. The light also faded from those mountains up north, where Serf curled up and his snoring joined the chorus of the rest of the Goron Village. The soothing cool darkness even reached Cape Zora, where Rist and Tan, fresh off a midnight game of Fin, poked fun at Zenkit for crying like a girl, and she made sure to punch both of them in the mouth before returning to her room. Of course, day's last rays lifted from the Stock Pot Inn which was good for Nesira who hadn't been up until the wee hours of the morning pacing around with nothing to do.

It was time to rest in the lulling, soft security of the darkness. The time to shine, blaze, act, and be known and heard had passed. There would be plenty of time for that when the run returned the next morning.

-

[Author's note: Let me well establish the following things… 1) It has been a long time since I have updated. 2) I should update again, much sooner, and perhaps start updating at an actual rate now. 3) There are a good amount of people who want to see this story continued. The purpose of this is to say this here so you don't have to dedicate most or all of your review telling me something we all already know. Other than that, it's great to have a new chapter up at last and to see many familiar screen names again!