Close to each other, both for warmth and safety, the small group walked across the snow-covered floor and underneath the icicle-covered ceiling.
After a while, they reached an intersection.
"Which way?" Ukyo asked. "Left or right?"
Ranko shrugged. "Dunno. One's as good as the other."
"Shampoo scout ahead," the purple-haired Gerudo warrior said as she ran down the left tunnel.
"Then I'm gonna take a look at the other tunnel," Link said. "Be back in a minute."
"Hey! Wait for me!" Navi shouted as she fluttered after him.
"Um, I'll go and see if Shampoo needs any... light, yeah, light, be right back..."
And she was gone.
All of a sudden, Ukyo and Ranko were standing all by themselves.
Ranko nervously folded her hands behind her back. "So, Ucchan... you, um, lived with the Kokiri? How did that work out for you?"
"Well, I..." Ukyo was hesitant, but she figured it would be no deal to tell Ranma about her life in the forest. "Quite good, actually," she said. "I had a real great time with them. Link and Saria are my best friends - you haven't met her, she's a real sweetie - and the Great Deku Tree protected us all... that is, until he died..." she sadly murmured.
"Oh... sorry to hear 'bout that," Ranko blushed, which looked funny, since she was turning a deeper shade of blue. "So, was he, like, your guardian or something?"
"That's what I just said, doofus!" Ukyo chuckled sadly. "He's the father of the Kokiri and the fairies, and every time a Kokiri is born, he appoints a guardian fairy that watches over the Kokiri. In exchange, the Kokiri keeps the fairy fed and protects her from harm. Over the time, they'll become the best friends you could imagine."
"But you and Link are Hylians, so why...?"
"Tatl and I always have been pretty close," Ukyo explained. "And Link, well, he's a special case: We never knew he wasn't a Kokiri until the Deku Sprout told us."
"Deku Sprout?"
"Yeah, he's the new sprout of the Deku Tree and was born from his remains. Over time, when he grows bigger, he'll be able to protect us like the old Deku Tree did."
"Oh, that's... good to hear. Say... don't you think the same could happen to Lord Jabu-Jabu?"
"The whale?" Ukyo asked. "Oh, he's your guardian as much as the Deku Tree was the guardian of the forest, I take it?"
"Yup, that's right," Ranko nodded. "Sis always cared for him before... well, ya know..."
"I... dunno..." Ukyo admitted. "Since he's a deity, anything is possible... maybe Nayru will give him a second chance, just like Farore gave the Deku Tree a chance."
Ranko smiled. "That would be great."
"So, you're their princess, eh?" Ukyo snickered. "Poor Ranchan, I always remember how you told me you'd be the most powerful martial artist when you grow up, and now you're the princess of the fish folk..."
"Hey, I'm still strong!" Ranko protested. "I've been training every day with Pops, and Shampoo taught me some Gerudo tricks as well. Besides, Sis is gonna inherit the throne, since her pops is the king and all. But that's okay, all I wanted is being the best fighter and havin' a family... and with Pops, Mom and Sis, I can have both."
"It's all right, I was just teasing you," Ukyo grinned. "Hey, if you want, we can have a match against each other, I mean, as soon as things have calmed down a bit... just like in old times! What d'you say?"
Ranko smirked. "Sounds good!"
Suddenly, when looking into Ranko's azure eyes, Ukyo felt how all the anger and hatred she had loaded upon her shoulders over the years fell off like an invisible weight, and for the first time, she really felt happy to see her childhood friend again.
"I'm so sorry, Ranchan!" she sobbed. "I thought so bad about you, even though terrible things have happened to us both... c-can we still be friends?"
"Ucchan, I never saw you as anything else," Ranko smiled. "So you were pretty ticked off, no big deal! I would have felt the same way if I were in your position, I guess. But now that that's over... no hard feelings?"
Ukyo wiped a tear out of her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, no hard feelings!"
Suddenly, Link, Shampoo and the two fairies came back from both sides at once.
"Hey, I found something!" Link shouted. "Looks like a frozen treasure chest..."
"Shampoo found Blue Fire!" the Amazon said in an excited voice. "Now we can save Airen's family... but is in big cave with many monsters. Airen help Shampoo fight?"
Ukyo shouldered her spatula and smirked at Ranko. "Looks like we've got work to do, Ranchan! Let's take down those monsters and bring the Blue Fire back to Zora's Domain."
"Sounds like a plan to me, Ucchan!" Ranko smirked back.
And when they walked past their friends, Link and Navi exchanged a satisfied smile.
"Well, aren't they the happy couple..." Tatl muttered as she put her hands on her hips. "I hope she hasn't completely forgotten about me... "Yo, 'Ucchan'! Little fairy companion, back here! Could you wait?"
"Then hurry up, you slowpoke!" Ukyo shouted back.
Shampoo giggled. "Good to see they all get along, yes?"
Cologne landed on top of the Desert Colossus, in which the former residence of Lord Ganondorf was situated: The Spirit Temple.
Ever since Ganondorf's new castle was constructed by the use of dark spells and hordes of evil creatures, these halls had become frighteningly quiet. Only the occasional of a guardian monster came up from one of the lower levels.
The huge conference room was devoid of any life, the two resting places of the twin witches were empty. Cologne sighed when she imagined the scenes that had taken place here.
Flying across the huge central platform, she left the room and proceeded downwards to the big guard room at the bottom of the stairs. In here, something that could very well be the heavy armor of a tall knight was resting on a chair made of bricks. Motionless as a statue, it stared into the emptiness of the room with a heart as cold as steel.
But that was just the outer facade. Deep within the hardened shell of the Iron Knuckle, a soft voice was pleading for mercy without actually speaking out loud.
Cologne stood in front of the metal colossus and looked up at its helmet with pity. She pulled a tiny bag out of her wide robes and then made a sweeping gesture with her hands.
With a loud clatter, the helmet of the huge knight fell down to the floor, revealing the tormented, but beautiful face of a Gerudo warrior.
"Please, elder..." she pleaded. "No more..."
"Be still, child," Cologne said to the woman who was one of her granddaughters. "You can be thankful that I am bringing you food and water at all. The orders were to keep you trapped inside that shell for all eternity. I can't free you without going against the king's orders. And if they knew I was doing this, they would most probably put me into a similar position. Now hold still..."
Nabooru sighed. It wasn't like she could do anything else. From below her neck, her whole body was still immobilized, trapped within the sturdy armor of the Iron Knuckle. And when Cologne put on her helmet again, she would once again be the same as the normal Iron Knuckles were: A mindless guard of pure brute and strength who had to follow every single one of its orders.
Cologne hopped up onto the former Gerudo Captain's shoulder and gave her food and water. Nabooru was humiliated by being fed like a baby, but she was thankful for the nourishment. Within the armor, she didn't need to eat, drink or sleep, but it was a meaningless existence, and even though nothing of her magical-induced strength suffered from it, she had to endure hunger and thirst, but could not die. It was true torture, reserved only for the worst criminals and traitors among the Gerudo.
When the bag was empty, Cologne hopped down to the floor again. "I must leave you now," she said in a sad voice. "The soldiers are getting restless again and I am awaiting new orders from our king every day."
"Don't you see that most of us don't want this king anymore?" Nabooru asked her grandmother. "Keep this up and rebellion is bound to follow."
"Be quiet, child!" the elder witch hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about. And even if it was true, they wouldn't dare. Ganondorf has his army of darkness on his side."
"That won't stop them," Nabooru insisted. "You seem to have forgotten what fighting means for a true Gerudo: The own life is meaningless when she strives for freedom and honor! Most of us don't really see the difference between the times before and after Ganondorf's conquest of Hyrule. We are huddled together in the desert, just as we did aeons before, while the only guards our king needs are his undead abominations. Even Shampoo ran away... do you WANT our race to be doomed?"
"STOP!" Cologne yelled with such a fierceness that Nabooru was taken aback.
The elder was staring at the ground. Her hands clutched her broom tightly, but they were still trembling. "It is too late," she whispered. "There is nothing we can do... we can accept our place in this new world order or perish at the feet of Ganondorf!"
She looked up at her granddaughter with a resolute stare. "Ganondorf's laws must be obeyed. Everyone who doesn't is marked as a traitor! And traitors must be punished!"
"Even if it's your own blood?" Nabooru asked in a very quiet voice. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Even... Shampoo?"
Cologne didn't reply. She also didn't say anything when she used her magic to levitate the helmet back up to Nabooru's head.
Once again, all Nabooru could see was the cold inside of her metal prison... and life became empty and meaningless again!
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(Posted Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:08)
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