Chapter Eight

                                    

                                          
Embers floated around me. Black ash and smoke blocked my view so I could barely see two feet in front of me. Heat burned my skin. My lungs were full of smog, and my eyes watered. 
                          
I raced through the halls of Hyrule castle, searching for Link. I was trying to make my way to his room, but it was hard to navigate through the dark, smoky halls. I stayed close to the wall and leaned against it, squinting my eyes.
                          
"Link!" I called. "Link, I'm coming!" I coughed and fought for air.
                          
I walked slowly through the library, searching around for the opposite door. If I could enter the hallway it led into, Link's room would not be far away. 
                          
I leaned against the bookcase and slid along, struggling to keep my eyes open. My head was pounding, and my skin was dry and hot. Suddenly, my arm stung with a terrible burn.
                          
"Ow!" I exclaimed, pulling away from the bookshelf. I turned to see what had made my arm burn, and my jaw dropped in horror.
                          
The castle is on fire.
                          
The castle is on fire, and Link and I are inside of it.
                          
"Link!" I called, a new spur of energy being sparked inside of me. I raced to the opposite door, taking a right into the hallway. "Link, where are you?"
                          
I dragged myself along the side of the wall, every muscle in my body screaming at me to stop. I made it to his door, and carefully opened it.
                          
"Link?" I coughed, falling into the room.
                          
"Mipha?" I heard a voice from across the room. "Mipha, get out of here!"
                          
I crawled across the floor and collapsed into Link's arms. He was sitting on the ground, ash covering his face and his bright eyes drooping and dim.
                          
"We'll get out," He wrapped his arms around me. "Come with me." We both struggled to stand and leaned against each other, gasping for air. "We'll have to go back through the library, and then walk down to the entrance."
                          
Slowly and miserably, we made our way through the castle. Smoke made it impossible to see two feet in front of you, and embers burned your skin. When we made it to the library door, we fell to the ground.
                          
"Come on, we have to get out!" Link took my hand and pulled me up. We approached the entrance of the library, when, suddenly, the archway collapsed in front of us, covered in flames. 
                          
We stepped back from the blaze. "Now what?" I asked. 
                          
"We'll go out to the docks," Link replied between deep breaths for air. "We can swim out."
                          
The thought of cool water on my skin sounded amazing. "Alright," I nodded. "Let's go."
                          
We took a detour and went around the other door to the library, walking in cautiously. Link went to the side of the room and pushed a large, metal bookshelf out of the way to reveal a stone tunnel lit with torches. We entered the tunnel, and ran down it as quickly as we could. 
                          
We reached the end of the tunnel, and, to our horror, the docks were ablaze. "Oh, Hylia!" I exclaimed. 
                          
"We'll be fine," Link pointed up to the stone path above the docks. "We'll jump down into the water from there." 
                          
I nodded and started walking to the entrance of the path, but my muscles were weak and tired. I collapsed onto the ground.
                          
"Link..." I said as he rushed back to me. "I can't go any farther."
                          
Link leaned down and picked me up and held me in his arms, racing up the pathway as fast as he could. When he got to the top, he stopped. 
                          
"Ready?" He asked me. 
                          
I nodded, longing for the comfort of the water. Link threw me into the cool water, and, even though the water was slightly smoggy with ash, it felt wonderful. Link splashed in beside me, and I took his hand. I led him through the water, the cool sensation giving me energy. Before long, we were back on solid ground.
                          
We fell onto the grass and closed our eyes, taking deep breaths of the sweet, clear air. 
                          
"We made it," Link said after a minute or so. "We're alive."
                          
We sat up and hugged, relief and love flooding my heart. "I love you, Link."
                          
	"I love you, too."
                          
〜
                          
	"We'll stay in Kakariko Village," King Rhoam sat upon a horse, Zelda and the Champions riding their own mounts beside him. We had left the area of the now burning Hyrule Castle, and had been traveling for hours. "It's the closest to here."
                          
	The sun set on the horizon, a pink haze surrounding it. The stars began to sparkle overhead, and the night was still and calm. We were in the forest surrounding Kakariko, and we were all exhausted. 
                          
	Zelda rode away from the group, occasionally shooting glares at me. She looked frustrated and irritated, and her face was red with rage. Nobody else seemed  to notice, but I did. But I didn't care. I knew Link loved me.
                          
	We carefully swerved around the trees in the forest, our horses slow and tired. By the time we arrived at the end of the woods, it was pitch black. 
                          
	"Now where?" King Rhoam turned to Link, embarrassed. "You probably know this region better than I do."
                          
	Link took the lead, and everyone followed behind him. It wasn't until we were just in front of the village that I noticed an eerie blue glow in the grass ahead of us. 
                          
	"Wait," I said, stopping my horse. "What is that?"
                          
	"It's a Blupee!" Urbosa whispered. "There's a few of them around Gerudo town. They won't let anyone get close to them."
                          
	"I heard if you shoot them they drop rupees," Daruk stated quietly. 
                          
	"Rupees?" Revali perked up. He took his bow out, equipping an arrow on it. 
                          
	"No," I leaned over, pushing the bow away from the strange creature. "Don't shoot it!" I hopped off my horse, quietly approaching the Blupee. I walked silently through the grass and sat close to it, examining it carefully. It looked like a rabbit, but with yellow horns, strange orange eyes, and, of course, a blue glow. I reached my hand out to it, but it turned and saw me and ran into the woods.
                          
	"No," I called to it, standing up and watching it leave. It turned back to look at me, then disappeared into a blue, shimmering vapor. 
                          
	"What a weird animal," Revali exclaimed.
                          
"It's not an animal, genius," Urbosa scowled. "It's a spirit."
                          
	"A spirit of what?" Daruk asked. 
                          
	"Someone who died," Urbosa answered. "Who do you think?"
                          
	Suddenly, thunder boomed overhead. We all looked up at the sky, and rain began sprinkling down from the clouds.
                          
	"Great," Zelda whined. "Now I'm soaked. We could have been in the village by now if you hadn't spent so much time looking at a dumb rabbit." She glared at me, snapping the reins of her horse. She rode into the entrance of the village ahead of all of us. 
                          
	"I apologize," King Rhoam stated. "Zelda gets a bit snappy when she's tired." He rode his horse into the village and the champions followed. We stopped in front of the inn and got off our horses, leading them to the back of the house. 
                          
	When we had them tied up, we went into the inn and spoke to the clerk, who was utterly stunned to see the King, the Princess, and all five champions in Kakariko. We got our beds and went to sleep, but I lay awake. 
                          
	When I was sure everyone was asleep, I got up out of my bed and quietly crept through the Inn. I pushed the door open and peered out onto the hill where we had seen the Blupee.
                          
	I didn't know why, but something about it intrigued me.