An Act of Arson
!Link Akkala Region
From a distance, the burning prism of oranges, reds, and yellows looks like the normal crown of Akkala's regional treasure, its dense autumnal trees. But approach it ever so closely, and the stench of burnt hickory and oak matches the unsettling smog of a vehement inferno.
Y/N has said little the ride back home. Not that it is expected, nor does she need to. I see the shadows of torment, the shadows of worry and grief beginning to obscure her bright e/c eyes. Her lips remained pressed together, her jaw set, and the nerves hinged together, creating a pinched sensation that ran up her cheeks.
I like to think that Jerrin and Robbie are safe. They are too crafty to be taken down by a fire.
My inclination is that Kilton, er, Majora, has started the fire, which leads me to believe he has to be close. Almost all of Hyrule is aware of this man; how does he continue to remain unseen?
Maybe as we extinguish this conflagration, we will also catch an arsonist.
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Your nostrils stung with the familiar scent of burnt wood.
Only this time, it was not from a terrifying Lynel shooting an electric arrow at you.
It was something far worse.
Your home, Akkala, and all its natural beauty are currently being decimated by the lethal blaze of a wildfire. Tears kept poking at your tear ducts and traveling down your weary cheeks. You could feel Link stealing glances your way. You avoided his gaze, knowing the remorse in his eyes would only serve to escalate your urge to sob.
I should have said goodbye to Jerrin and Robbie. And now I may never see them again.
You ordered Reisz to halt. Epona slid beside you, with Link following your lead. He jumped off of Epona and made his way toward you. You jumped off of Reisz, barely making it into his arms, before you collapsed and wept. His arms provided the kind of hug that spoke through its strength.
"Y/N..." The tender note in the way he spoke your name made you start to wail even harder. He held you in silence, not wanting to offer any disingenuous condolences. Once Link sensed he possessed the right words, he spoke. "Y/N, no matter what, Jerrin and Robbie adored you like their own. Those feelings can never be destroyed. Not by fire nor by death. I don't know them like you do, but I know one thing: they are some of the most brilliant and capable minds in all of Hyrule, along with Purah. I don't know what this fire was meant to accomplish, but I know they are too smart to meet their end at the hands of it."
You pulled your tear-soaked face away from the crook of Link's neck. You wiped your eyes, your tongue running across the salty tears that had glossed your lips. "Are you saying that to make me feel better, or do you truly believe that?"
He grabbed your hand and placed it on his cool armor, where his warm heart lay beneath. "With every beat of my heart, I believe they are okay. "
"I didn't say goodbye, Link. Before we left, I should have said goodbye."
"Goodbye is an illusion created by the flesh. We always come together again, whether it be in this life or the next. No matter what, you'll see them again, Y/N. We found each other, remember? Think about this: if they're alive and well, you get to tell them you fought a Lynel, and Zelda wants to recruit you to the historian guild."
You felt snot trickle from your nose. You wiped your wrist across it, wondering what Link must think of your appearance at this moment. Yet his eyes only seemed to regard you with concern. "You're forgetting the bigger news."
"What's that?"
"You and me." You weakly chuckled.
The ends of his lips snaked upward. "Ah, you did tell me Jerrin does love her gossip."
You hopped back onto Reisz, and another shockwave hit you as you remembered your other home, the East Akkala stable. "Ah, and the stable! I'd like to make sure Rudi and Khini are okay. Even Hoz. I hope they..." Your voice caught. You were unable to finish the sentence. Unable to fathom the possibility of both homes being incinerated to nothing more than cinders and ash.
Link appeared beside you. "Y/N, trust me on this, people as irritatingly pig-headed as Hoz won't even be wiped out when the moon hits us. He's fine."
You bit your lip as you saw Link roll his eyes at himself. He had a point. If there were any survivors, it would probably be Hoz.
After all, only the good die young.
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The singed grass crunched beneath Epona and Reisz's hooves. You and Link pressed on; you both tucked your noses beneath the collars of your clothing, a weak endeavor to protect both of your lungs from inhaling the ember-saturated air. Your eyes burned, torrid, and dry-another physical ramification of the destruction in your surrounding environment.
Where trees had dominated the land between the stable and lab, they had fallen submissive to the greater oppressor, the wildfire's flickering flames of ruin. Through your squinted eyes, you could see the shape of the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab buried beneath thick swirls of smog and dust. The lab's signature cerulean furnace, known as Cherry, could not be seen. As you approached closer, you managed to see most of the building remained intact, besides some charred areas of the wall. Scorched and crumbled birch bricks lay about the blackened grass, as if it were crumbled goat cheese on a salad of weeds.
As you neared the summit of the hill, Queen Zelda's distinguished voice belted out commands. "Let's get a list of any causalities that have occurred. I have Vah Ruta en route to the western region to help contain the fires."
Purah stood before her. A giant water cannister was strapped to her back as if it were an oversized book bag. Symin was also in their vicinity, armed with the same type of cannister in which he was spritzing on tarnished grass as if he were simply watering a flower.
Zelda tapped her Shiekah slate against her chin in thought. She stopped when she noticed you and Link approaching. You caught sight of Link beside you, shriveled and silent, waiting on his orders from the Queen.
You decided he had been rebellious enough; perhaps he was trying to remain in Zelda's good graces the best he could.
If there were any good graces left.
"Ah, look what the flames delivered. My knight and my future protege." You jumped off of Reisz, sprinting toward Zelda and Purah with as much speed as you could muster. Link reached his hand out, calling behind you in warning. "Y/N, watch your ankle!"
"Queen! Purah!" You bowed in a sloppy manner before searching their faces for any expressions of sympathy. Before you could ask, the door of the lab shot open.
"Y/N?" Jerrin stepped outside, her eyebrows perked upward, alert upon hearing your voice.
"Jerrin!" You ran past Zelda and Purah, meeting her by the door.
The familiar feeling of her arms around you flooded you with gratitude. "Oh, Thank Hylia- Jerrin-" Your lips quivered into the collar of her tunic. She gently combed her fingers through your hair before moving to your back, patting it with support, the way mothers do. "Y/N, it's alright. We are okay." She pushed you back to get a full view of you. Tears welled up in her eyes but refused to fall. "My, Y/N, have you grown, or has it been that long?"
You latched back onto her for another embrace. "Jerrin! I thought you were gone, and I never said goodbye, and-"
"Shhh, Y/N, I'm alright. You're alright. Everything is alright." You startled for a moment, realizing there was another face you needed to see.
As if on cue, Robbie came to the door. "Jerrin? Is that Y/N?"
He toppled over you both, pulling you all into a group hug. You couldn't help but cry again. The familiar scent of gear oil and dust lingered in the doorway. Robbie's dry, frizzled hair rubbed into your face, causing you to sneeze.
You were home.
You caught a peek at Link. He stood awkwardly, resuming his role as the silent onlooker, except his face spoke volumes. He tapped the spot on his armor where he held your hand over his heart. Where he gave you his oath.
He was right. You smiled in his direction and mouthed 'thank you' at him.
Purah walked over, sniffling as she got in on the hug.
You all remained in a ball of beige Shiekah tunics and embroidered arms. Until Queen Zelda walked up, clearing her throat to demonstrate the need for recognition and forcing the ball to disband. "I do not wish to disturb this reunion, but unfortunately there is a dire obligation that must be fulfilled."
You all stopped, giving her your undivided attention. "Now then, Vah Ruta will tackle the remaining fires in the west. It worries me that guardian parts have gone missing."
Your ears perked up at this. "Guardian parts are missing?"
Jerrin continued to rub your back. "Whoever did this took what they wanted from the lab before trying to set it on fire."
Link stood next to you; his eyes fixated on a stark spot of burnt debris on the ground. "So then, they are trying to revive the guardians and pit them against us? But why? Why mutate monsters and revitalize the guardians when they could simply abolish us with the moon?"
Zelda sighed. "This is more than extermination; it's a game." She walked toward a rogue silent princess that sat by Cherry, mythically unscathed by fire. She began to twirl it around as she spoke. "Realistically, according to record, Majora could have destroyed the world known as Termina right away, but even then, there were three days. This mask thrives on games of torture."
She smelled the silent princess, her eyes closed in a stolen moment of bliss. As she opened them, her eyebrows met with a rejuvenated sense of determination. "If I saved this flower from going extinct, then certainly I can save my people from extinction once more."
She looked at Link, and for a moment, you thought he shivered. A reaction you thought of as rather strange. It was almost as if he were afraid of what she had to say.
As Zelda opened her mouth to address him, Symin shouted.
"Hey! What is that? Up there?"
All of your heads slowly turned in the direction of Symin's arthritic finger, which pointed at a shape floating before the blood moon.
Link wagged his fist in the air. "Majora!"
He darted through the doors of the lab, his hand clenching the satchel at his side that contained the fierce deity mask.
"Link!" You prepared yourself to follow him, only for a firm grasp of your shoulder to hold you in place. You turned to see Zelda; her eyes were unable to meet yours as they lingered on the silent princess in her other hand.
"Y/N, you mustn't follow him." You could tell she was trying to display a certain mild temperament while remaining stern.
"I have to! I promised Link, no matter what, we fight together, even if we should both fall!"
"Y/N." Zelda seemed to consider her next statement. This time, she did allow herself to meet your gaze. Her green eyes seared with admonition. "If Link puts that mask on... he will no longer be the Link you know."
"What do you mean?"
"He will not be the man you love, my appointed knight, or the hero of the calamity... he will be-"
From atop the lab, on the observation deck, came a gravelly laugh.
Edited:12/13/2023