Oath and Vow (KafAnju: Majora's Mask)

Chapter 1: A Promise Kept

The rumbling echoed through the lush fields of Termina. The periodic blasts of winds grew stronger with each blow, cracking the tree branches of Woodfall, blowing snow off mountain tops of Snowhead, and pushing waves away from the sandy beaches of the Great Bay. Standing in the center of the land was the small, yet crowded Clock Town, waiting to be the first violently crushed by the looming enraged moon hanging above the rooftops. With every tick of the town's central clock tower, blood began to seep into the clouds hanging above the night sky as the moon steadily grew larger, showing its rage and lust for destruction.

Though futile, most of the townsfolk, besides those who were either stubborn or had simply accepted fate, had fled from the town. Many houses that used to be filled with families, workers, and even thieves now sat empty, shaking in fear at the moon's ever-growing presence. A few buildings, however, remained populated with those same individuals who refused to leave. Of these buildings, one of them happened to be the inn of the town, where one young lady sat quietly in one of the bedrooms.

Sitting on a bed, the slender woman brushed her red bangs out of her eyes, staring down at a gold mask that sat in her free hands grasp. Her blue eyes had grown red from the tears she had shed earlier that evening. She felt horrible for refusing her mother's wishes, choosing to stay and wait for her loved one to return instead of seeking safety—or potentially spending her final moments— with her family. Regardless of the guilt that plagued her mind, her heart on the other hand felt at ease, whether her lover kept his promise or not. To her, she had kept her promise and followed her heart, something that, if worse came to pass, she could be proud of.

Suddenly, her pointed ears twitched. She could hear the rapid thumping of footsteps heading up the stairs that lead to her empty room. Hope filled her chest as she attempted to wipe the dried remains of tears from her eyes and cheeks. The door to the room opened to reveal a young boy, one that she had gotten to know all too well. And while she was happy to see that he was alright as of now, she could feel her heart crack. The green-hatted boy who had helped her so much in the past three days was not the person she had hoped would appear before her. Slowly, she sat back down on the bed in distress.

"You really stayed?" a high-pitched ring said.

The woman looked up to see a yellow ball of light appear from behind the blonde boy's body. Flapping its wings, it flew across the room toward her, stopping to hover above the gold mask.

"I have decided to wait for him," the woman said, trying to keep the tone of defeat out of her voice. "I've made my promise... I'm fine with this. I believe him."

"Anju..." the fairy said in shock. "You really have trust in him, even after he left you for so long?"

"I do," Anju answered, looking up with a nervous smile. "I feel guilty for many things. I always find a way to make simple mistakes on even the most basic of tasks, but the thing I feel the worst for most of all is almost allowing my faith in him to disappear. If it weren't for you," she glanced over at the boy standing near the door, "then I possibly would have gone with my mother to the farm. If I had done that, and Kafei really did keep his promise and arrived... I could never forgive myself."

"Both of you are really stupid," the fairy said with a ring before flying toward her partner, "but, I guess I'll pretend to understand."

The fairy flew around the boy's head before stopping to hover near one of his long, pointed ears.

"Do you think he'll make it on time?" the fairy whispered quietly. "That idiot... If he hadn't run off so quickly, we may have been able to just use the ocarina to get him here a lot faster."

The boy didn't have an answer, able to give nothing but a worried look toward Anju, who had again begun looking down at the mask in her hands.

Without warning, the room began to violently shake. Chairs and tables vibrated as their wooden legs bounced against the floorboards. Vases fell and crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces while picture frames jumped from the walls. The mannequin, sporting a beautifully crafted white wedding dress, shuddered violently, barely able to maintain its upright position. The boy stumbled and leaned against the wall for support. The fairy began to shake in the air as her ringing echoed in the room. With only the sheets to grab as support, Anju fell from the side of the bed and onto the ground, landing on her knees with a thud. The mask slipped from her fingers and slid a little bit away. She looked down at the shaking floor as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. Just as the shaking began to subside, the echoing boom of the clock tower bell started to ring in their ears.