Chapter 10: Training Problems
Mishcana squirmed as she woke up and stretched widely. Knowledge of the new spells danced around in her head. Her shutters were closed and her room was in complete darkness. "Am I back in that room again?" she murmured in her confusion. She stood up and headed for the window and cast open the shutters. The warm spring breeze carried through her window bringing the sweet smell of rain and flowers with it. The sun, she saw, had long since gone to bed. The moon had raised full into the sky its pale but enchanting light shining through her window and illuminating her room. Ripped garments greeted her in her mirror. Blinking in shock she spun around to get a better look at the gaping gash in her clothing. "Thank goodness my life shield held." She uttered quietly to herself, "That probably would have killed me had it not. But where was there? Was it a dream that was not a dream? It couldn't of been real; Link was alive and well in the chamber when I returned; at least, I think he was. I need to clear my head, maybe a quick run through with my arrows at the targets will help." She sighed deeply and changed her tunic unhurriedly. Hung upon her rack was her bow and quiver. They had been placed gently and carefully there, she was pleased to find as she reached for them. Securing her quiver to her waist she left the room and pulled the door shut behind her.
The castle was as silent as a funeral; no creature walked at this hour save herself. Even the careful servants who bustled around late in the night were absent and in their beds. Mishcana slowly turned the handle to the training room and slipped in quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers nearby. There were few guards patrolling on this level as most were stationed at the gate and at the stairway upward. A startled gasp escaped her lips as she turned around. Link was still awake, practicing with his sword against the enchanted sword targets. They moved to and fro and danced around him. One by one he destroyed them. His eyes were closed in concentration but the all night mask's eyes peered back at her, glowing red. He was fighting blindly, she realized, using his ears to track his pray rather than his eyes. "Your eyes can deceive you." She murmured to herself in memory. Link defeated the last of the targets and opened his eyes grinning triumphantly. He re-sheathed his sword and went to re-conjure them again when he noticed her. "Oh! Mishcana, you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.
Mishcana's hands ran along the bow and she answered carefully, "I'm feeling better, I think." A smile ran across Link's face, making the black mask look vampirish. "Good, I was worried. I decided to stay up until you woke up; I thought you might want to talk. The Great Fairy said you could talk about your test to me, if you wished. You don't have to, though." A large amount of curiosity poured into his tone. Mishcana looked away from him and she looked at her bow. She fiddled with the string a moment before answering unemotionally and simply, "I killed you." A few tears broke loose from her eyes as she looked back at Link with wide, large eyes that appeared lost. Link took a deep breath against the news but came closer to her. He pulled off his mask and put it away. Concern for her danced hard within his eyes. "That couldn't of been easy. Let me guess, I tried to kill you, didn't I?" she nodded silently, and said simply, "You must've seen my tunic then." He shook his head and grinned, "How could I not off? Gleelock scorch marks, and a huge rip down the middle. You fell with your back to me; of course I saw it." Worry began to colour his tone, "Are you really all right, though? Do you need to talk?" Mishcana nodded again. "I'm okay, but, I should explain, shouldn't I?" Link looked at her carefully, "You don't need to." A sigh escaped her lips as she bit them and she began, "I should. It might be important. You're right, the first test was easy. I just had to fight a gleelock. The second test was odd, though." She paused, a perplexed look crossing her face, "I was in a dark room, and it was like a cylinder. I began to wonder if I had failed. On my hand, I noticed courage glowing for the first time. There was no way out so I sat in the middle to recover some magic while trying to figure out a way. While in my trance, Dowan came down from above. Only, I'm not sure it was Dowan. He looked like you do now, except his eyes and hair were the same colour as Dowan's. His clothes were black, yes, but he did not have the fancy gauntlets or armour that Dowan always bears. He wore a black cloak about his shoulders, and that was odd as well. A voice just like yours came from his voice, not an adult's voice, but a child's. He talked like you, too, and tried to warn me of the danger that was rapidly approaching. I did not believe him because I thought it was Dowan or some similar shade trying to deceive me. To my surprise he did not attack he merely receded backwards into the chamber muttering his advice, "Your eyes deceive you, don't trust them." Then a light shone in a chamber and a figure descended from above. He looked just like you in every detail, except maybe his hair was a brighter blonde. He wore white instead of green. I thought that unusual and asked you, no, him, about it. Ignorant he thought me for asking. He was not nice like you and seemed to have no concern for anyone around him. I did not trust him anymore, but he looked just like you. He said I'd better hurry or he'd leave me there, and so I went towards him. He put his arms around me and I looked at the black figure and realized my error. My eyes were deceiving me, seeing a friend where an enemy lied, and an enemy where a friend had tried to warn me. I tried to break free but it was too late. Cold steel of a biggoron's sword ripped through my tunic down to the belt. My life shield held, but it hurt greatly." A soft sniffle escaped as she continued, "Even though I knew it was evil, I still had trouble killing it. It looked just like you, Link. I wasn't sure if it was you, just possessed by some demon. It would not give up and kept attacking me. In the end I stabbed it." Tears flowed free as she spoke. Link drew her closer to him and helplessly stroked the back of her head. After crying a moment she looked up at him without pulling away, "It, it was horrible. Your dead eyes staring back at me. It even said my name. I thought, I thought. . ." she trailed off and stood still a minute, unable to speak. Link kept stroking her hair and spoke reassuringly, "I'm fine. It wasn't me. Don't worry about it, okay?" Desolately she lifted her head back up and her eyes met his. "The black Link came forwards and put his arm around me and tried to comfort me. He was an illusion meant to be you, I discovered. He said I had done what I had to, and you and the Great Fairy were calling me back. The corpse of white Link disappeared and black Link moved away from me saying again, "Remember, your eyes and mind can deceive you. When all else fails, trust your heart." With that I came back in front of the Great Fairy. I didn't have a chance to ask anything, or apologize when the knowledge of the spells started coming. It was just too much for me." Her tears began to dry and she pulled away from Link. "Thank you, I'm feeling better now. I'm just worried; what is it that all of that meant?"
He shook his head slowly and looked rather stunned, "I don't want to know, I think. Let's hope we never find out." She nodded and brushed the hair out of his face, "You should get to bed. It's late; Saria'll kill you if she finds out you stayed up to this hour." He nodded and moved toward the door, "Very well, I'll get to bed." He yawned sleepily, "C'mon, Mish. It was a long day for you, sleep or no sleep. You should get to bed as well so you can wake up early; we've got to train tomorrow. You've new magic; you must learn to use it properly. Great Fairy magic is difficult to control at first." She nodded reluctantly and followed him out the door. The two bid each other goodnight when they reached their doors, and entered separately into their rooms.
Mishcana woke first and rose up from her bed. She drew back her shutters and greeted the dawn happily. Last night's worries had worn off with her luxurious sleep. The red of morning was all she could see of the sun, and so she guessed it was early. She quickly put on her standard Kokiri outfit. She left her room; already a scattered few servants were bustling up and down the hall and a few guards were leaving for their shifts. At Link's door she halted and listened. From within she could hear heavy snoring and so grinning returned to her room. Outside birds of many kinds sang happily from the multiple roofs of Hyrule. She climbed up onto her window ledge and hung her legs out the window. A smile exploded on her face as a small orange bird with black markings landed on her extended hand. It looked into her eyes implicitly and then began to sing. Its song was short and sweet. Mishcana struggled to try and imitate the sounds; she had never sung before in her life. Quietly the notes rose out of her throat and she grinned broadly. After a few attempts she had mimicked the tune near perfectly. The bird seemed to smile by the way its feathers puffed out. He sang the rest of the song and she tried to match it again. Eventually the two sang prettily together. Mishcana giggled contentedly as they finished the song, "Thank you bird. I've never sung before. I wondered what it would be like." The bird twittered happily and whistled at her. His wings spread wide and he launched off her finger, disappearing far into the sky.
Mishcana's grin grew as she climbed back into her room. The sun had come into full view though red, orange, and purple still tinted the sky. She went to her desk and noticed a small package upon it. It was wrapped with great care and it had a note attached. The note read: "Congratulations Mishcana on passing your test. From: Impa". Eagerly, Mishcana opened the package. Inside was a small leather-bound book. The pages appeared old while the leather seemed to have been refurbished. The faint smell of mothballs hung around it. The title read, "Advanced Magic of Hyrule and Its Use." Mishcana grinned as she ran her hand along the smooth, oiled leather. She climbed onto her bed and began to devour its contents.
Hours later a sleepy Link raised his head from his simple bed. He shook his head as though to dispel it; he had many strange dreams during the night. At a snail's pace he went to the window. A quick flick of his hands and the shutters were open. The soft breeze blew over him with gentle coolness. His eyes closed in contentment; the wind felt excellent. Sweat from last nights dreams dried from his body. He sighed contently then opened his eyes and nearly squawked in shock. The sun had risen full in the sky; it was a few hours past dawn. Hurriedly he changed his clothes and exited his room still pulling on his cap. The gilded sword laid forgotten as well as all his other items upon his weapon rack.
Cautiously, he opened the door to Mishcana's room. Inside he found her happily reading her present. He blinked twice, and then appeared slightly angry, "How long have you been up?" Her answer was a grin, "Since dawn, sleepy head. Don't be mad; you needed it. Otherwise I would have woken you up." A sigh escaped his lips and he shook his head, "Alright, alright. Maybe I did. What are you reading?" he asked, his tone becoming happier and curious by the minute. "A book Impa gave me as a passing present. It's about different kinds of complex magic, and how to use them. I think I could learn some of these if I saw them done a couple times, but, maybe not." She set the book down upon her pillow and uncrossed her legs. She went over to her closet and pulled on her boots. They were oddly shaped around the collar having square shapes cut out of them. Zelda had insisted she get them as they were in style. He took a peek in her closet as she shifted on her boots and smiled.
It was filled with four green Kokiri tunics. Kokiri tunics were special in that one did not need to wear anything with them. The bottom skirt was comfortable and easy to move around it. It contained a built in short structure that kept anyone from peeking from below. They were just like his tunics except the collar had been cut away and was smooth, while his had flaps. In the corner of the closet was the blue, soft cotton robe Zelda had given her many months ago. Its colour was starting to fade from the usage it had received. He smiled fondly, looking at it. It had been a compromise between the two. Zelda had tried to force the stubborn Kokiri-Hylian girl to wear a dress to be more lady-like. Mishcana had flatly refused even the prettiest dresses proclaiming the Kokiri clothing she had on had been good enough for her, her whole life, and she would not change what she wore. Zelda had been disappointed and tried being persuasive. Frustrated, she had exclaimed, "Tunics are for boys! Here in Hyrule castle girls wear dresses." The girl was a stubborn as he was, he remembered fondly, and she stuck to her proclamation. Eventually, Zelda gave up and asked her if she would at least wear a robe to bed. The girl finally conceded to this provided Zelda would stop bothering about wearing a dress. Zelda was happy to see Mishcana in something pretty, and Mishcana was happy to be able to wear her Kokiri clothing. He was thankful that near explosive issue had been resolved. Still, it would have been worth something to see Mishcana in a dress. He was sure it would be a sight to see. "Come to think of it," he thought to himself, "I don't remember her ever wearing one when we were little, either. That's odd. All the Kokiri girls wore dresses. Why . . .?"
Mishcana startled him out of his thoughts as she slammed the closet door shut. "C'mon, Link. Let's go. You said we'd practice Farore's wind this morning, didn't you?" Blinking, he grinned and nodded. "Sure. I think you'll find it trickier than you think. Just knowing the spell doesn't mean it will always work." Together they left the room and entered the training room.
A few hours later Raner walked by the training room and blanched at the livid cursing coming from within. He drew his sword and rushed through the door, ready for anything. Inside he found Link laughing his head off while Mishcana cursed up and down the room. "What happened?" Raner asked in an utterly confused tone. Link looked like he could barely breathe, he was laughing so hard, "She, she tried to use Farore's wind. It finally worked . . ." He laughed harder, "But she remerged and landed in a heap. So she tried again, and the same thing happened. She just did it the fourth time like that." He slapped his knee and tried to get himself under control. Mishcana stopped swearing when she finally noticed Raner. Colour rose to her cheeks and she turned away and went to the other side of Link. She looked sheepishly at him and asked, "Did you hear all that?" His solemn nod made her look mortified, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone could hear us." He grinned and stifled his own chuckles. "It's alright Mish. I just thought there was a moblin or something wreaking havoc in here-" he trailed off as he looked at her angry eyes, "-but instead I found a nice girl working on her spells." Mishcana seemed to accept this correction but muttered under her breath none the less. "Can I see?" She blushed again and went to one side of the room. She set her warp point carefully and moved to the other side of the room. A flash of green light surrounded her as she did the gestures and incantation. When the light cleared, she was gone. A moment later and the green light warp point glowed and she emerged feet-first on the ground. She grinned triumphantly and pumped her hands into the air. Link stood up and clapped, and leaned over to Raner, "Finally!" he whispered grinning broadly. Raner nodded excitedly in agreement and applauded as well.
Link came up to her and slapped her on the back, her beaming face wincing slightly, "Good job, Mish! Think you can do it once more?" She nodded near breathlessly, "Excellent. Go set the warp point in your room. You should really keep one to there anyway, then come back and teleport from here, alright?" She nodded again and exited the room. A few moments later she returned and stood at the centre of the room and cast the spell. Link and Raner hurriedly went to her room. As they arrived she began to appear, bathed in green light. They stepped towards her and she swooned, her eyes still closed from the spell. Both caught her and looked worriedly at each other.
They laid her on the bed carefully as they could. Link seemed merely curious while Raner seemed very concerned. Link's eyes unfocused a moment and he blushed. "Oh my, I should of known better. She overused her magic again. I should've known the spell was taxing her. Aw, she should have said something. She's going to be really dizzy when she wakes up now. You can go Raner, she's fine, really. I'm going to let her rest a bit. C'mon. Let's go." He drew the covers up on Mishcana and made sure the pillow was positioned well then left the sleeper alone. He shooed his hesitant friend out the door and closed it behind them.
"I'm in a lot of trouble now." Said Link sadly. "Why?" Raner asked curiously. "She'll be insisting on me letting her have Romani milk after that, so this doesn't happen. Gah. She doesn't know what the stuff's like. I doubt she'll like it anyway. What do you think, Raner? Should I let her try some?" He shrugged, "She's the same age as you I'd wager, if it's okay for you, should it not be alright for her?" He sighed, and nodded, "All right. If she asks me again I'll say yes. The first time's rough though, but it ought to be very humorous." He grinned and the two went there separate ways; Link to his room, Raner to his rounds.
When Mishcana awoke the sun was past its prime in the sky. She cast off her blankets quickly, not sure of what had happened. She stood up and nearly swooned for she was still dizzy from the overuse of magic. She fell backwards onto her bed with a groan and closed her eyes and concentrated. She searched for Link within her mind, and called to him. "Link, where are you? I'm really dizzy." She lay there a while, her eyes shut tight. Eventually, his answer came, "I'm on my way. Just rest, alright?" She sighed and sent an agreeable, if irritate response to him. He came flying in, carrying a bottle of green potion in his left hand, "Thought you might need this." She grumbled slightly. Her head spinning, she sat up and drank the vile-tasting green potion. Finished, she wiped her mouth and returned his bottle to him. "What happened?" she asked more nicely as her head had begun to clear. "Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention to you magic levels. You over expended, got dizzy and well, fainted when you arrived here. Raner and I put you to bed, to let you try and recover on your own - guess it was a bit too much over used for that." She nodded and stood up. Her feet were steadier now yet she had to grip on to Link for the first few moments to keep her balance. Satisfied that she had found her stability, she released him. "Link, this is why you should let me do what you do before training." Link grinned teasingly and said, "What? Practice breathing? Sure!" She groaned loudly and smacked her hand to her forehead, "You know what I mean. You should let me try Romani Milk so I can-" He cut her off swiftly. "I saw that one coming. All right, I've decided. You can try some, and I'll be very nice; I won't tell Impa. The only restriction is you have to drink it slowly, its effect is less that way, and, you have to stay in the training room. I'm not going to let you leave. Drinking that stuff the first time might make you a loose cannon; I want to observe you first. Eventually, loose cannon or not, you'll get used to it and it won't be a problem. Here, C'mon, let's go."
He checked her room quickly for a warp point. Seeing none he nodded satisfactorily to himself. The two left the room and crossed the hall. He closed the door behind them and locked it. The spell that protected the walls from all magical assailants activated. He smirked and brought out a large bottle of Romani milk. It was lifted towards his lips and he drank deeply of it, leaving only half a bottle for Mishcana. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and grinning, tilted the bottle towards her. "Here." Her eyes widened in perplexity, "I'm going to need it to defend myself against you, I think. I need the magic." He smirked again and thrust the bottle into her hand. "Go ahead. Drink it." She nodded eagerly and lifted it to drink as fast as he had, but he caught her wrist. "Ah, ah, ah. Slowly, remember? I want you able to sleep tonight." She nodded and slowly drank the drink.
At first, Mishcana felt perfectly normal aside from the fact that her magic was fully restored. Slowly, a warm feeling crept over her. She felt like she was loosing control but she did not care. She grinned at Link and began dancing around the room with her training sword. Casting Nayru's love to protect himself, he grabbed her wrist and held it, "Thought so. I'll just keep this for you." He relieved her of her sword, and she did not seem to care. She spun around and around giggling happily. Her cheeks had flushed red and she laughed at things that he could not see. "Ah, Romani Milk," he chuckled to himself, "I wonder if this is how I acted when I first had a taste?" He ducked quickly strengthening his Nayru's Love spell. Mishcana was laughing wildly and launching fire spells about the room. They travelled in tiny fireballs and were launched in random directions. She cast jump and began bounding around the chamber calling out for him to join her. The skilful jumps they had done at the party not too long were now sloppily executed. She crashed and fell many times. Chortles echoed round the room as she fell, still under the influence of the powerful alcoholic milk. Link giggled, as he watched her, "No wonder I had to reset time after my first drink of the stuff. Talt never did tell me why I did that time." His own cheeks were slightly flushed but he remained in firm control of himself. "Keep practicing those magic attacks, Mish. You'll want to work off that excess magic." Mishcana nodded energetically and bounced back and forth through the room devastating the targets as she ran past.
The next morning Mishcana's head hurt fiercely. The small rays of light peaking through the window hurt her eyes greatly. Groaning, she pulled the pillow over her head and curled up in a ball, "Ugh" she murmured. Link jumped in the door and inconsiderately shouted, "Good morning Mishcana! Enjoying the after effects of Romani Milk?" She lifted her head, still squinting as the light from the hallway poured into her eyes. A pillow wailed at Link, but it was poorly aimed. "C'mon sleepy head, hang over or no, you've got duties to attend to. I warned you; but you wouldn't listen so I let you find out the hard way." She groaned again and sat up, her hands clutching her head, "What happened last night? I don't remember anything after drinking that yummy milk . . ." Link giggled hilariously, "Oh Mish, it was great. You were running around like a charlatan, throwing magic spells everywhere in the room." Her puzzled looks caused him to add, "Eventually, you looked like you would be sick and you blacked out, so I brought you back in here and waited to be sure you were alright. C'mon now, you're fine despite your head hurting are you not? You promised Captain Teichart you'd do a shift with Raner and Pwert this morning. I'm to find you a horse; I understand you're patrolling the field today?" She moaned as she remembered, and cursed herself for forgetting. Painfully she asked him, "Does anything get rid of this headache?" He shook his head, and smiled. "It'll stop in a few hours. The good news is, next time you won't react as bad. The bad news is, you're going to be late for your shift. C'mon, get dressed. I'll be back in a moment. I think I better let you ride Epona; Riding and hangovers don't mix, or so the guards say. She's sure of foot and would know what to do if you were asleep. Now, get ready or you'll be late." Nodding in consensus Mishcana moved to her closet as he left the room.
When she emerged she wore her Kokiri clothing as well as a brown light-riding cloak. Her hands were still clutched to her temples. The training sword and bow were attached to her back. Uneasiness hung around her she shut the door behind her. Link was waiting for her dressed in his normal adornments. In his hand he held a decent-sized Hylian shield and grinned. "They finally got over the deficit of shields from that shield-eater attack. Here, for you. Now you'll look a bit more like a guard." Carefully she took the shield from him. Rather than looking more deadly she looked more comical. Though both of them were large and old enough to use one, the shield looked sort of funny amongst Mishcana's more delicate features. "Woo. That's going to take some getting used to. I wish I could have given you one sooner. You understand the basics of using it, right?" Link asked as he grinned. She nodded then groaned; nodding her head had caused an unfavourable reaction from her headache. Link stifled his giggle and propelled her by the shoulders out the door.
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