Although excited, Ael was slightly surprised that Link had given in and allowed her to go so easily

Although excited, Ael was slightly surprised that Link had given in and allowed her to go so easily. As they crossed Kakariko village, she stared at the ground, ignoring the rain that was beginning to fall even harder. She didn’t say anything, though.

Link sighed a bit looking around. He felt a bit ashamed of himself for letting Ael go. It was really too dangerous for her either way it was looked at. Even Lenny looked as if he disproved of Link's choice, but he wasn't about to step in. He looked up at the storm clouds and sighed as well. "These are the most sedacious clouds I've ever seen..."

Ael continued staring at the ground, not wanting to look at Link or Lenny. She didn’t want them to see the confusion on her face- no need to bring it up. She wasn’t worried about herself at all, but she would have thought there’d be more argument behind it. She tried to think of something to say that would make it seem like she was as careless as she normally would have been.

Link stopped walking and turned around and knelt down in front of Ael, looking over her carefully. "Ael... why is it that you want to come with us?" He asked all of a sudden. Lenny looked at the two and then leaned against a nearby tree, folding his arms across his chest and listening intently for Ael's answer.

She looked up, not enough for him to see her troubled eyes, but just enough so she could see Ihim/I through her lashes. “I…” She thought about it for a while. There were so many reasons, but she couldn’t put them into words. “I want to help fight,” she said at one point. “I want to…” She’d considered herself involved in the whole ordeal, but now it just seemed like she had been in the way. “I want to help you. I want to do Isomething/I.”

Link sighed and nodded. "I appreciate it.. but... I really don't want you to get hurt. If Ganondorf sees you, he's not going to show any mercy. He could kill you. I don't want that Ael." He replied, searching her face for some kind of emotion.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but not in anger. She looked away, bowing her head, unable to say anything, knowing that her voice would betray the tears she was trying so hard to fight back. In the end, she just shook her head slightly.

Link felt terrible for saying she could come along and then telling her he didn't want to, but he didn't want her to get hurt at all. He stood up and started walking towards the village exit that lead back out to Hyrule Field. Lenny looked at him and then at Ael, then followed after Link without breathing a single word.

Ael stared after them until they disappeared in the pouring rain. Maeli and Farah stood at the doorway, watching her. Finally, unable to hide the tears, she clenched her fists, turned, and ran back to the house. The girls stood out of her way as she ran upstairs and collapsed on Maeli’s bed, sobbing into the pillow.

Lenny looked at Link as they walked alongside each other. "Maybe you were a little rough on her just then." He said and glanced at Link briefly. Link shrugged and shook his head. "Probably... I just don't want her to get hurt. I care about her." He said, tightening his fist a little. "I feel like such an idiot..." He muttered under his breath. Lenny shook his head a bit and closed his eyes. "You can apologize to her when we get back. Maybe she'll understand by then."

“Ael…” Maeli opened the door to her room, where all the lights were out. Rain pounded on the curtained window. The girl was still lying on her stomach, her blank eyes staring lifelessly across the room, her face streaked with tears. Frowning, Maeli crossed the room and sat down beside the girl, stroking her hair. She’s never gotten to comfort a child before- her mother had ran off as soon as her younger sister was born, taking the baby with her. She’d thought of the child a lot, never knowing who it was, though she’d secretly suspected Rosy. “Oh, Ael…” She ruffled the girl’s hair sadly. Ael never looked away from the far wall. Finally, Maeli sighed, got up and left noiselessly, closing the door behind her.

A dark figure loomed in the distance, not too far from the two fighters. "Link, I'm feeling a strange force around whoever that is. I think it's Ganon..." Lenny told Link, speaking just barely above the rain so only Link could hear. Link nodded and slowly drew the Master Sword from it's sheath, pulling the shield off of his back as well. High above the figure, the clouds had come to a stop, circling around one single glowing orb. "That's the orb that... they used to revive Ganon..." Link gasped. "Wasn't that destroyed!?"

As soon as the door closed behind Maeli, Ael jumped up silently, her heart racing and her blood pumping faster than normal behind her ears. She sank to her knees, retrieved the Kokiri blade that she’d dropped when she collapsed, and crossed the room to the window. “Ael!” Tiki, who had been curled up under Ael’s pillow, gasped, flying across the room and hovering between the girl and the window. “What are you thinking?!” Ael shook her head. “Get out of the way, Tiki.” She shoved past the fairy, climbed up on the beside table, and threw the curtains aside. It was a long jump to the ground far below, but she didn’t care. She had to do something, had to try. Holding her breath, she closed her eyes. And jumped.

The figure turned around, revealing the dark face that belonged to Ganon. He had a cruel and wicked grin across his face and began cackling loudly. The sphere in the sky began to glow a slight orange color and released a small beam of energy into Ganondorf. "What's he doing?!" Lenny scoffed, unsheathing one of his large swords. Link shrugged and ran forward toward Ganon. He lowered his sword to the ground as he ran, dragging it along the grass creating a small trail of mud. He swung the blade upward at Ganon, but it was easily dodged. He turned around mid air and brought the sword down towards Ganon but was dodged once more. Ganon took the chance and punched Link hard in the chest, launching him back at Lenny.

Ael had twisted her ankle in the fall, but she didn’t care. She didn’t stop to rest or wait as Tiki frantically followed around. A bad feeling washed over her, and she shook her head, jumping back to her feet and stumbling out of the yard. The water continued falling from the almost-black sky, drowning the world in grief and misery. She ran and ran, until she got through the village gates, never looking back at what she left behind. As she ran down the steps that descended from the village, she stumbled often. And then she found the grass again. “Link!” she screamed, no clue where he was. The rain was falling harder now, he’d have to be close to hear her.

Lenny grabbed Link before he hit the ground. Link brought himself to his feet and ran back at Ganon as well as Lenny. They both went for surrounding Ganon and attacking him both at the same time, but their attempts were completely fruitless. Ganon just let out a wicked laugh as the battle struggled forth, seemingly enjoying the difficulty he was giving to the two. He held out his palms towards Lenny and Link as they ran towards him and two bolts of lightning hit them both, their wet bodies conducting it. "Fools!" Ganon shouted as he drew two large sabers. "This is where you'll die!"

Through the rain, she couldn’t see anything. But something was wrong. She could feel it. From far, far away, through the darkness, she thought she saw some kind of lights. And they made her tremble, sensing the evil that had to be there. The creek that ran through all the way to the castle was flooded, water gushing out over the land for miles. She didn’t even bother looking for the bridge- she just ran right through it. At one point, she sank into it, and emerged coughing and choking. She rested on the land for a minute, coughing up the water. And then she got back up, squinting into the distance as she trudged on, forcing herself to keep running. She was always screaming Link’s name, hoping –but not expecting- a reply. And she was getting closer now, able to see the lights and a few dark figures. She could sense their presences, but could hear nothing over the roar of the rain.

Ganon raised his blade above Link's head, and brought it down hard, only to be blocked by the Master Sword, releasing a flurry of sparks. Link had to use both hands to stop the blade from hitting him. He felt blood trickle down his hand from the pressure of the two swords against each other. He clenched his teeth and slowly pushed himself to his feet and pushed Ganon back. Lenny had fallen unconscious from the lightning. He had gotten the worst part of the spell. Link glared at Ganon and held the blade behind him, and then swung it horizontally with great force, firing off a quick wave of energy at Ganon. It hit him but seemed to do nothing. "Again you're still a fool, Link. I'll make your death as painful as I can. We'll meet again." He growled and vanished into a cloud of darkness.

“Link!” Ael screamed, as he came into sight. She saw a third figure vanish, but didn’t worry about it. She ran forward, sobbing. And then when she saw the destruction around her, burned grass, blood, mud, and Lenny’s unmoving body, she stopped dead in her tracks, shocked.

Link, breathing heavily, let the sword slip out of his hands. He slowly turned around and looked at Ael, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth. "What... what are you doing here Ael?" He said weakly. He looked at Len and sighed, closing his eyes. He had a large wound on his right shoulder where the lightning had burnt the flesh off.

“I couldn’t just not come!” she said. “I had to try.” She looked at Lenny, then at Link. “I couldn’t stay. I’m sorry…”

Link shook his head and smiled. "No. It's fine. You came at a good time, Ael. I need your help getting Lenny back. Do you think you could help me out?" He asked as he picked up his sword and sheathed it and put his shield on his back, walking over to Lenny.

She watched him for a second, then grinned, wiping away the last of the tears. “Yeah, sure!” she chirped, running over to him.

He picked Len up a little and slung one of his arms over his shoulders. "Just grab him wherever you can. He has a bit of armor on and it's making him kind of heavy."

Ael obediently wrapped her arms around Lenny’s other arm and his stomach, helping support him. The rain was still falling, seemingly never to stop.

The walk was a bit longer than it should've been, but they eventually got back to the house and put Lenny on the couch. Afterward, Link pulled up a chair and sat in it, pulling off his shirt to examine his wound. "Dammit..." He said, feeling it. It was practically a hole in his shoulder.

Farah and Maeli ran out of the upstairs bedroom at the same time, both of them glaring with enough force for Ael to grow tense. Then her eyes grew narrow and she nodded at Link. Shocked, Maeli looked around the room. She sighed as she came downstairs. “Farah, tend to them for a minute.” She walked over to the stove, turning on some boiling water and pulling together a lot of herbs. Ael sat down on the floor beside Link, staring up at him in concern.

Link finally left the wound alone and sat back in his chair. He looked over at Maeli, then Farah and then at Ael. He smiled at her weakly. "Thanks for showing up when you did. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it back here. I don't have that much strength in me right now." He said, tapping his fingers on the desk a little.

She gave him a crooked grin, then sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Outside, the downpour was slowly beginning to fall. Farah tended to Lenny’s wounds for a minute, then Maeli came over and handed Link a hot rag packed with herbs. Ael recognized some of the herbs as ones that only grew back in the forest, and she frowned, wondering how things were going back there.

Link took the rag and began dressing his wound, sighing a bit. "He's too strong. More or less way stronger than before." He said calmly. "Neither me or Lenny could land a good hit on him and when I did hit him, it didn't seem to do anything to him at all."

When she was done with Lenny, Farah sat down across the table from him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Hmmm. We’re gonna have to think of something,” she said, pointing out the obvious. Ael looked around the room, unable to think of anything. Maeli and Farah both grew silent, trying to think of anything in their years of research that might help them.

"Farah... back at the Gerudo fortress, there was that orb that shattered and revived Ganon, right?" Link asked and closed his eyes. "I thought it was destroyed, but I saw it with him. It was floating in the sky and all of the clouds were circling around it. It seemed to have been giving him power." He explained.

Maeli and Ael looked over at Farah, wondering what had happened. Farah closed her eyes, then nodded. “I see… He went into each of the temples, right?”

Link nodded. "Yeah..." He said and opened his eyes, looking at Farah, curious if she knew anything about it.

“And did he take anything from them?” she asked. Maeli nodded, catching on as she remembered something that she’d learned before she ever even met Link.

Link shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think there were some more orbs similar to the one that revived him. I wonder what he would want with them though..." He said and looked over at Maeli.

“There’s a legend,” Maeli began with a sigh. “Like the one about the Goddesses, the Triforce, the Spiritual Stones and medallions… They’re basically the same thing. Only, the orbs aren’t keys. There’s one for each of the elements, and each one is the source of the power for their respective sages.” And they hold gifts from each of the Goddesses. So, without the orb of the Forest, the Kokiri Forest will slowly begin to wither away. Just like last time, only the sages are powerless to do anything now.”

"So if Ganon has them all... then everything is going to die out and he'll be bale to rule everything with no problem whatsoever... right?" He said and crossed his arms, glancing at Lenny and then back at Maeli

Maeli nodded. “Unless we think of something. The sages, though… They’re basically completely out of the picture. I wonder, though, if the loss of their orbs will effect them in any way. Maybe you should take a trip back to the Forest and check on Saria sometime?”

Link nodded and stood up. "Yeah. I'll be sure to do that when the storm clears up... and if the storm doesn't clear up I'll do it after I get some rest." Lenny groaned a bit and blinked his eyes open. "Unh... we're back? We're alive?" He asked, sitting up slowly

“Yeah, luckily,” Farah said. “Going after him alone again isn’t going to do anything from this point on. Not as we are now.” She bit her lip, thinking about it. “Mae, I’m leaving for a while.” Maeli turned to face her. “But it’s the middle of the night and it’s still pouring! Where could you possibly-“ “I have to see Rosy,” Farah said, cutting her off. “Good luck, you guys. I’ll be back soon.” She left without another word.

Link watched her leave and once she was gone he turned and looked at Maeli. "I don't think you ever really explained who Rosy was to me. You just said she served as some sort of messenger. Why don't you elaborate on that for me a little?" He asked.

“Well…” She sat down where Farah had just been sitting and tucked her hands under her chin, leaning her elbows on the table. “We found Rosy when she was pretty little- she’s only about a year older than you, Ael. She’d washed up on the shore of Lake Hylia, and Farah and I had been meeting there about the time when this all started… She was freezing and starving, and when we asked her, she had no idea where she was or who had left her. No clue what had happened. And so we took care of her for a while, and she got this idea that she owed us something. So, ever since then, she’s been going here and there, voluntarily gathering any information she can find. But she stays on her own, so we have to bring her food and such often.” She stared off into the distance as she spoke, thinking about her theory of Rosy, wondering if she should tell them about that.

"You two treat as if she were someone who knew about all of this... like she knew better than you two do. Or that's how you talk about her. Maeli.. if you're hiding anything, this isn't the time for it. We need to know as much as we can. Anything and everything helps." He said, sitting back down. Lennly laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. "I know who we should talk to about all of this." He said all of a sudden. Link turned and looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Who would that be?" He asked and crossed his arms. "Ziger."

Maeli cast Lenny a sideways glance. “I don’t know about Rosy. I think she spends –or used to spend- most of her time with Raul in the Temple of Time… That’s where Farah will go to look for her. If she knows anything more, she hasn’t told us. But he very well might have given her additional information.”

"She would've told you then... wouldn't she?" Link interupted. "She doesn't have a reason to conceal anything from you two right?" Link sighed and shook his head. "Nevermind. We'll just have to wait and see what happens I guess."

Maeli nodded. Better just to drop it, she decided. “But… if I find anything out, or if Farah has news for us when she gets back, I’ll let you know. For now, you all should rest.”

Link slowly nodded. "I guess you're right..." He said and stood up, turning to go rest in the room he had been staying in.

“Ael, you can have my bedroom for the night, I’ll stay up and wait for Farah,” Maeli said. Ael, who had been lying on the ground, rolled onto her stomach, then pushed herself up onto her knees. “You sure?” Maeli nodded. “Ok, well…. G’nite!” Ael said, then started towards the stairs.

Before Link went in the room he stopped and looked at Ael. "Ael... when I go to check out the Forest Temple... do you want to come with? I mean... I know last time you said you didn't want to, but I was just wondering if you changed your mind at all. You can come along if you want." He said and smiled.

She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, then smiled back and nodded. “Yeah. Just, you better not plan on leaving me there,” she said, teasing.

He grinned and nodded. "I wouldn't dare." He said and went into the room and laid down on the bed. He mumbled a bit to himself and eventually fell asleep.

Maeli watched as Ael walked away grinning, and again wondered if that was what it must be like for siblings. Sighing, she turned back to the sink and stared out into the night.