Chapter Eight
Auralii was silent for the rest of the long trek. Finally, they reached a door on an upper level. It had a large lock in the center. Loki produced another key and opened the door. He led Auralii inside.
The room was smaller than her room at home, but it was larger than what she had expected. The floor and walls seemed to be carved out of a large rock. Then again, everything seems to be one large maze set in stone. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one huge rock. There was a medium sized bed up against one wall, and it had several blankets and pillows on top of it. There was a small vanity and mirror on the opposite wall with a pitcher and basin on top. There were small torches along the walls and a small window that let in a little light. The light was of an odd quality, and it seemed to be shed by fire, not sun.
“This will be your room now,” said Loki. His voice still had no expression whatsoever. It was almost terrifying to hear Link and Liam’s voice devoid of all feelings. Auralii had talked to the two men several times, and their voices were always full of feeling.
“Um, Loki, aren’t you worried about what Ganon’s going to do to you? You messed up trying to kidnap Sapphira, and he seemed angry.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean? He might do something horrible to you!”
“He’s my Master. I will do whatever he wants.”
“What if he wants to kill you?”
He shrugged. “So what? I don’t care.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Don’t you care about anything?”
He thought for a moment. “No.”
“You must care about something.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“Then what do I care about?”
“I’m…I’m not sure.”
“That’s because I don’t care about anything.”
“You do!”
“You just said that you didn’t know what.”
She sighed in exasperation. “I don’t know now, but I’m going to find out.”
“How?”
She thought for a moment. How am I going to do this? There’s no way he has no feelings at all. He has to have some feelings. Maybe if I talk to him or something. “Sit with me on the bed,” she ordered. He obeyed. “Now, I know that you have to have feelings.”
“Good luck, Princess.”
“My name is Auralii. Call me that, please.”
“Yes, Auralii.”
She paused, thinking about what could possibly give him strong feelings. “What do you think about Link?”
“He created me.”
She sighed. “Yes, I know that. Is that all you think of when you think about him?”
“I think about all his strategies and moves.”
“Do you think he should change them?”
“It doesn’t matter. Whatever he does, I’ll know how to counter him.”
This is going nowhere! “Aren’t you angry at him? He defeated you in the Water Temple.”
“Yes, I know. I don’t care. He won.”
“Would you have been glad if you killed him?”
“I wouldn’t have cared. I would have disappeared if he died.”
“But don’t you wish you had won?”
“I don’t care.”
“You’re impossible! You must have felt something!”
He smiled. “I don’t have feelings, Auralii. I can’t feel anything.” He stood up. “Fear, joy, anger, hope, hate, happiness, despair, love. I feel none of these things. They mean nothing to me at all. I just am. I exist.” He began to leave.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“My Master calls for me.” He left and closed the door. Auralii heard the lock click as he turned the key.
Now that she was alone, Auralii didn’t know what to do. At least she was occupied while talking to Loki. She lay back on her bed and thought of ways that the shadow could have feelings. What a way to pass the time…
