Chapter Twenty-Two

I've been gone for so long! Ack! Busy semester (medical school interviews, ultimately deferred acceptance, graduation...), other projects...anyway, yes, I know this is really short, but I just could NOT resist stopping where I did, so please enjoy this vaguely ridiculous chapter!

Vaati stared down at him from his place on the tree branch, his expression disbelieving. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking, Shadow."

Dark Link shook his head, kneeling down by the still-sleeping Vio with a pilfered (purple) dress tossed over his shoulder. He removed Vio's tunic and hurried to put the dress on him. The black sky above them was starless, their light hidden by looming storm clouds, and a chilly wind blew. He didn't want Vio getting sick. He carefully picked the leaves and grass from Vio's long hair (good thing he'd never cut it, he thought), combing it through with his fingers quickly; he did not dare summon the lesser shadows to bring him a comb so close to this sacred place. Lastly, he tied a bandage around Vio's left hand to disguise his Triforce-shaped scar (really, it was unlikely that anyone would recognize it as it was, but just in case...).

They hid outside of a well-protected convent dedicated to the worship a goddess who was said to be so holy, only her followers could speak her name. It was said that the building was one of the oldest in all of Hyrule, pre-dating even the Hero of Time himself. It wasn't a particularly large place (at least, not on the surface. Rumors abounded that the building sprawled underground, forming catacombs and secret chambers so deep one could easily be lost for a lifetime, but Dark Link had no knowledge one way or the other.), but it was a protected place, traditionally favored by the Hylian-born queens, though kings and foreign-born princesses usually held no special bond to it. It was protected by layer upon layer of ancient magic; magics so deep and powerful that Dark Link doubted even Ganon could break them. . . . Even if he did, he didn't have the power to do it now.

Dark Link answered only after a long silence. "There's nowhere safer in all of Hyrule. This place is beyond the King's power, and I can't sense anything within its walls. If I can't, then that means Dark Zelda shouldn't either. There aren't many places where the shadows cannot reach, but this is one of them. If the princess is still in the country, then she's here. I know Sheik. The first thing he's going to do is search for the princess, so if I want him to find Vio, then I need to leave him where Sheik is likely to look."

Vaati stared. ". . . But you just said shadows cannot reach this place."

Dark Link grunted. "He couldn't before. Other Zeldas have come to this place, obviously, and Sheik hated it because he could never follow them inside. But. . .he's different now, isn't he? He bled red, like a proper Sheikah. He should be able to enter. Impa always did."

He nodded to himself, satisfied with his work. "We have to hurry. The next patrol will be by soon. I don't want to wake him. I. . ." He shook his head, but they both knew why. After what had happened in the graveyard and the grotto, he was too ashamed. He stood, holding out his hand for Vaati to step into. "Promise me you'll look after him until Sheik comes?"

The Minish dipped his head in acknowledgment. "I promise."

Dark Link nodded and set Vaati on his shoulder, carefully scooping Vio into his arms. He'd have to leave him by the gate, for he could get no closer. He laid Vio upon the bare ground, and covered him with a (stolen) blanket. Vio shivered despite it, curling into a ball for warmth. Dark Link deposited Vaati near an edge of the blanket, so that he could burrow beneath it easily.

"Good luck, and be careful. Remember what we discussed before." Dark Link whispered, moving slowly away.

"I will." Vaati murmured, burying himself in the blanket and crawling into a handy pocket.

Dark Link vanished into the shadow by the bush he'd hidden behind earlier, opting to stay long enough to ensure that Vio was found, and at the very least brought inside. He hoped the dress would be enough to convince them. . .

Nearly a quarter of an hour passed before a lantern-bearing guard made her rounds. She almost walked right past him until he moaned quietly, shifting in his sleep. She started, and with a surprised shout hurried over to kneel beside him, placing her lantern on the ground. She shook his shoulder lightly to try to rouse him, growing increasingly worried when he failed to stir. The guard looked right and left, as though searching for whoever might have left him, then picked him up and carried him inside through a side door, which she unlocked with a key from a ring at her belt.

Dark Link breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been worried it wouldn't work. . .

There was a reason Hylian Kings did not favor the place, even when it meant so much to their mothers. Males, even young ones, were not permitted inside. Not to say that it was enchanted to keep them out (otherwise this plan would be moot anyway, since Sheik wouldn't be able to enter), but the servants of the goddess simply didn't allow them in.

Hence the dress.

The first thing Vio noticed was how soft his bed was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept on a proper bed. Perhaps with his mother?...But even those memories were still fuzzy. He burrowed into the blankets and nearly fell back to sleep when he felt a light tug on his ear, drawing him awake.

"Nn...Vaati?" Vio whispered, spotting a pair of tiny red eyes in the dim light of the room. Vaati looked at him sadly, and Vio gasped as everything came rushing back. The temple, the Dead Hand, Sheik back from the dead, Vaati, and. . . Shadow. Dark Zelda. Vio buried his face in his pillow to stifle a scream.

"Vio, hush!" Vaati whispered frenetically. "I know what you're thinking, and Shadow's fine, all right? He's going to be fine."

"But Dark Zelda-"

"Don't worry about her, or Shadow." Vaati soothed, crawling from his hiding place to nuzzle the distraught Vio's cheek. "Shadow brought us to a safe place, but listen. We're in a convent located in the south of Hyrule. Only women and girls are allowed here, so if anyone asks, your name is Violet, and you don't know how you came to be here, all right?"

"W-What?" He had so many questions. How had they gotten here? What had changed Shadow's mind? Where was he? Would he be alright? Dark Zelda would hurt him. . . Footsteps echoed outside and Vaati dove back into the blankets to hide. Vio laid back down and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

A door opened and someone entered, padding over to his bed quietly. Hands reached out to tuck the blankets around him and Vio only barely repressed a flinch. Stop it, she isn't going to hurt you! "Poor dear." A kind voice murmured. Another moment passed before the footsteps moved away from him, and Vio breathed a sigh of relief.

"Best get some sleep." Vaati murmured quietly, poking his head from his hiding place. "You look exhausted."

Vio bit his lip. "But, Shadow. . ."

Vaati shook his head again. "Wants you to be safe. He. . ." He dropped his voice lower, crawling closer to Vio. "He suspects that the princess might be hidden here. If that's true, then Sheik will inevitably come looking. You can rejoin with him then."

Vio's ears perked. "The princess?" He whispered, awed. "So. . . I should find the princess, and stay close to her?"

Vaati nodded. "If at all possible, yes." He tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I'll help. But it can wait until morning. I know you've gotten used to moving at night, but the people here aren't, and I daresay you'll have to adjust to their schedule. So go to sleep, all right?"

"But. . ."

"Go to sleep."

Easy for Vaati to say! He couldn't help but worry, about Shadow, about Sheik, or the princess Sheik cared so much for. Surely if he just waited until. . . Vaati. . . fell. . . . asleep. . .

Despite his mind's worries, his young body was simply too tired to resist the pull, and sleep he did, aided by the lightly scented incense burning in the room to ward off the occasional night terrors even normal children are prone to (but then, what was normal about Vio at all?).

The sunlight woke him several hours later, searing his retinas and causing him to burrow back under the blankets, hissing in pain. He'd spent the past several days in the darkness of the Shadow Temple, after all, and had not seen the sun since emerging from it.

"How are you feeling, dear? Is it too bright?" The light dimmed, and Vio cautiously poked his head out from under the covers. A kindly old lady smiled at him from near the drawn curtains. He recognized her voice; she was the one who had checked in on him in the night.

"Thank you, ma'am." Vio said quietly, trying to keep his voice soft and gentle, the way he thought a girl's might be. He noticed a bandage around his hand and fiddled with it.

She picked up a tray he hadn't noticed and brought it to him. "All the girls call me Madam Nurse, dear, so you might as well do so too." She watched him until he began eating, then probed gently, "what's your name, dear? One of our guards found you outside the gate early this morning. You looked like you'd had a rough time of it."

"My name is. . ." Vio remembered what Vaati had said. "My name is Violet. I. . . I come from. . ." He recalled the feeling of knowing nothing, the fear and anxiety he'd felt, and he channeled that now. Tears came to his eyes and he made an upset sound, turning large eyes on the woman. "I don't know!" He wailed. "I can't remember!" He started to cry and she rushed to soothe him, startled when he at first flinched from her touch, then leaned into it. She rubbed his back and murmured gently, trying to reassure him.

"There, there now dear. It's all right, it's all right now. Let's just be glad you made your way to us safely. Are you hungry, dear? If you like, I'll take you to the dining hall to eat. Perhaps meeting some of the other girls will help, hm?" She offered with a bright smile. Vio sniffled and nodded slowly. It would be a great time to try to find the princess. The princesses in Sheik's books always wore fancy dresses and crowns, and those that Sheik named as Zelda always had the mark of the Triforce, like his, so she shouldn't be too hard to spot...right?

Madam Nurse helped him up, and he noticed with some alarm that he was wearing a girl's shift Someone had changed him! But- "Here's a dress for you, dear. Your other one was quite muddy. Your shift was clean, thank goodness. I know little girls like you, and they'd be quite embarrassed to be dressed by Madam Nurse at your age." She smiled and handed him a dress, stepping out and closing the curtain around his bed to allow him to change.

Vio stared at it, absolutely baffled. "Vaati?" He whispered. "How do I put this thing on?"

Vaati poked his head out from his hiding place in the sheets, giving Vio an equally bewildered stare. "Pretend it's a tunic, only...frillier."

Vio tried to stick his head through, only to get stuck in the petticoats. He pulled back out and turned it this way and that, looking for a zipper or a clasp- "Violet, dear, are you alright?"

Vio panicked. "Uh, yes Madam Nurse! I'll be out in a moment!" He finally found the hole and wiggled into the dress, managing to tug it down past his knees (and giving Vaati just enough time to dive into a pocket) before Madam Nurse peered around the curtain, giggling quietly. She stepped up behind him and undid a clasp he hadn't seen, tugging it down the rest of the way before redoing the clasp. She fished a brush from the bedside drawer, running it gently through his hair. That done, she stepped back past the curtain and handed him a pair of white shoes and stockings. They weren't as comfortable as the boots he was used to (and who wore white shoes anyway?), and she had to do the buckles for him, but at last he was dressed.

"How's your hand, dear? Let me check the bandage for you." Madam nurse offered, reaching for his left hand.

Vio clasped his right hand over his left and shook his head vehemently. " N-No Madam Nurse! It's fine, really!"

She gave an odd little smile, but nodded. "All right dear." She took his right hand in hers, then, and led him from the infirmary. They passed through old white-stone halls, lined with pictures of the various ruling queens of Hyrule. "Currently, there are about nineteen young ladies staying here. Our youngest is three, our oldest seventeen. Some of them plan to take their vows, many do not. They stay in dorms on the upper floors, three to a room. Someone will lead you to your room after class."

She led him down a set of grand stairs and through a pair of double doors to the left. They entered a large room with several round tables set about it. The tables contained the white-clad sisters of the convent, as well as several younger girls. Some of them were clad in the finery of nobility, others in the plainer dress of the common people. Madam Nurse led Vio to a table with five other girls, four of whom (all dressed in finery) took one look at him, stood up and walked away.

"You'll have to excuse them, dear." Madam Nurse said quietly. "It's been hard on them, being sent here so unexpectedly. . . " She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Violet, dear, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Vio gave a shy smile. Girls! How did girls talk to each other? "H-hello," He said softly. "My name is Vio..let. Violet."

The red head, dressed in simple farm-wear such as he'd seen girls in his uncle's village wearing, beamed at him. "Hi! I'm Malon! My father sends me here for some schoolin' when there's not so much to do on the farm."

Vio barely heard Malon, because the second girl (where did she come from? Weren't there only five?...) lifted her blood-red eyes to his. His breath caught in his throat. How could she? It wasn't possible! Sheik had said that no pure-blooded Sheikah remained, and CERTAINLY none with Sheikah eyes. "I'm Sheik." Vio barely noticed Madam Nurse pat his arm and wander off, confident the girls would get along.

Goddesses! She even LOOKED like his Sheik. Blond hair covered one eye, the rest of her face and hair hidden by bandages, a turban, and a cowl. She wore Sheik's blue exoskeleton, complete with the Eye of Truth on her tabbard.

What in the name of the Goddesses was going on? . . .

Warned you all it was short! Hopefully the next chapter will follow soon.

Thank you to the Chapter Twenty-One reviewers:

Rose_Starglen: Something like that.~

RococoSpade: You're awesome and I love you! ^_^

darkwolflink1: Yeaaahh...This chapter a completely different tone from the last few. Heh, and short...

Kick-Aft: Yeah, he does that.

Fluffy's Yuki: ...I usually do respond to reviews?...It's easier if you sign in, and then I can just respond to you directly though, I mean, if you REALLY want to know something... To be fair, only Dark Link knew Vio was there, and he didn't want Dark Zelda to get suspicious. Thank you, and I hope your finals went well!

Shadowgirl215: Thank you! I hope this chapter got a few laughs.~

Claradwor: Updating...yeah...Although you DID review five months after said update. Hee. Oh dear...um...poor Gufuu?