Link looked around the museum in awe. With its high, vaulted ceilings and polished marble floors, it had to be the most beautiful building he'd ever seen – much nicer than the school with its mucky yellow brick, or the orphanage he lived in, where the wallpaper was half hanging off the walls and the old wooden rafters were exposed.
And that was saying nothing of the stuff inside the museum. The room Link's class was just stepping into was full of eye-catching displays – shards of metal and old tools in one display case, a pair of stained glass windows on the opposite wall featuring a blonde girl in pirate garb and a boy in a green tunic and hat, a large plaque standing in the middle of the room providing a lesson about the windows.
Link knew from his history lessons that the people depicted were Queen Tetra and King Link, the first rulers of New Hyrule. The legends – more like fairy tales, really – told that the two had defeated the King of Evil who brought Old Hyrule to ruin, but most people Link's age had stopped believing in those stories.
Link stopped his gawking and focused on his teacher. "...and don't touch the exhibits. We're going to meet back here to get on the bus at three thirty. Am I clear?"
The kids immediately scattered, talking excitedly to each other and forming haphazard groups as they ran off. Link didn't join them, instead choosing to make his way towards the Great Sea exhibit at a more sedate pace.
Link had always loved history. In his hazy early childhood, he remembered a big bookshelf of legends and picture books and rolled-up papers his mother had called scrolls. He remembered pestering his mother to tell him the Legend of Zelda every night before bedtime. When she died and he moved into the orphanage, he knew the legend well enough to tell it to the other kids.
Out of all of New Hyrule's history, though, he loved learning about the Great Sea. He knew almost all there was to know about the various islands and the people who lived on them, from the Rito of Dragon Roost to the merchants of Windfall Island, and he even knew a lot of what there was to know about the Koroks of the Forest Haven. He even knew some about the people who still lived on the islands, few though they were.
Naturally, being so interested in the Great Sea, he had heard of the expedition to find the bottom and whatever might be there. According to the news, the head archaeologist had found a journal that dated back to the time of King Link that talked about an ancient kingdom under the sea. Using information from the journal and radar images, the team had found the ruins of an old castle. Some of the items recovered from that expedition had been put on display in the New Hyrule Museum of Civilization.
Thus, Link's excitement.
The Great Sea exhibit was located one hallway away from the entrance, in a room with deep blue walls and ceiling, a banner on one wall proclaiming it to be the first room of the "Great Sea and Ancient Civilization Exhibit".
On stands around the room were pieces of glass and stones; interesting pieces to be sure, but the standout piece was the massive grey stone in the middle of the room, standing tall with a blue-hilted sword stuck into it.
Link vaguely noticed another kid with a pink hoodie looking at the stone as he approached its plaque, but they didn't say anything, so he ignored them.
This stone was found at the top of a sunken tower. The stone was speculated to once have been a carved pedestal for the sword in the top. However, ocean currents appear to have eroded any trace of its former shape, and the sword can no longer be removed.
Link scratched his head. "Why is the stone so big? The sword is pretty little..."
"It's probably bigger than it looks," the girl in the pink hoodie replied. "But who knows? Maybe it was just really important."
"That makes sense. Why was it on top of a tower, though?"
She shrugged. "Maybe it was on display. Maybe the tower isn't even that tall. Maybe it was a fountain in a town square or something."
Link shrugged, tilting his head to look at the stone from a different angle as something occurred to him. "It looks like a person! See, there are the arms..."
The girl giggled, drawing Link's attention to her. Dramatically, she pulled back her hood and said, "Maybe it is a person! Maybe someone stuck a sword into their head and turned them to stone!"
She had a big grin on her face, but Link wasn't focused on that. He was focused on how familiar she looked...
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," said Princess Zelda teasingly.
"You're – but – no guards?" Link's mouth wouldn't work properly no matter what he tried to do.
She grinned slyly. "I snuck out. The guard captain isn't that bright. My tutor did help, though; she's pretending she can't find me in a game of hide and seek so I can go to the museum without being surrounded by a bunch of guards." She rolled her eyes. "They're so overprotective."
"Isn't that their job, though?"
"Yeah, but I can take care of myself. Besides, I've got someone better to look after me."
Link was about to ask who when she took his hand and dragged him off to see the rest of the museum.
Oh. Right. There he was.
The two spent the whole day dashing and messing around in the museum. Link learned quickly that Zelda loved to play little pranks, and that nothing would stop her from doing what she wanted. Most of her pranks were relatively harmless – moving little artifacts on pedestals into different positions, switching information plates on artworks, and generally being a silent nuisance to the security guards. They almost got caught a few times, but by right of being small ten-year-olds, they managed to blend into crowds really well.
Near the end of the day, they wound up back in the Great Sea room, staring at the stone again.
"It seems familiar," Zelda said, looking at the sword. "Like I've seen it before, in a past life or something." She turned to Link. "You're a little like that too. It's like I already knew you, like we were best friends once."
"I feel that too. Like, I've seen you on TV before, so I knew what you look like, but it's like something's telling me you're my friend."
They looked at each other for a few moments before simultaneously declaring, "Weird."
Zelda grinned at Link. "Since we're best friends now, how about one big thing? For me?"
"Sure..."
That grin meant nothing good.
"You have to do it yourself, though. I wanna take a picture."
That set him on high alert. "What?!"
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. It's perfectly safe, and I promise you we won't get caught."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Climb the rock and try to pull the sword out."
A second later, she grabbed his arms to keep him from running away. "Come on! It'll be funny! You can act like a knight from a fairy tale!"
"No way!"
"Come on, Link! I just want something to remember this trip by." In a lower voice, she added," I probably won't be able to get out of the castle for a while after this. I want something funny to remember while I'm cooped up. Please?"
Link could feel his resolve weakening. He took a quick glance around the room, which was empty except for the security guard standing at one of the doors, glued to his phone. Link sighed heavily, already regretting his decision.
"Fine, I'll climb the rock."
She grinned and threw her arms around him. "Thank you. I'll take a picture of you with your hands around the hilt." She let go and pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket.
Link went around the far side of the statue to the security guard so that he wouldn't see the climb until it was too late.
The rock was a difficult climb, slanted so steeply and worn so smooth that he could hardly find a hand or foothold. Still, Link managed, and he clung to the top of the rock staring at the sword for a second.
Now that he was at the top, he could see that the sword wasn't that small. In fact, the exposed part of the blade was nearly the length of Link's forearm, and it looked like it was buried deep.
"Come on!" Zelda whispered from the ground. "Are you going to touch it or not?"
"I'm going." He wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword and was amazed to find that it fit them perfectly. He gave the sword an experimental tug, not expecting it to move.
It did.
Link gave a shout of surprise and overbalanced, and three things happened at once.
One, the security guard looked up and started to yell at Link; two, Zelda's phone camera flashed; and three, Link's arms flew up in shock, his hands still wrapped around the hilt of the sword.
The sword came out of its pedestal, and Link's arms, still upwards, turned so that the blade was now standing straight up over his head. The blade gleamed in the dim light of the museum, and Link dimly heard the shutter of Zelda's camera play again.
Suddenly, the rock beneath Link's feet shuddered and began to crumble. He leapt off, rolling on the floor to absorb the momentum of his fall and landing on his butt, then turned around to stare as the stone began to glow and crack.
As Link, Zelda and the security guard watched, flakes of stone fell off the sword's former pedestal, revealing black underneath. The lines of cracks moved down to the floor, and suddenly all of the stone flew from the pedestal and dissolved into dust, leaving the black lower layer to collapse to the floor, two long metal blades now sticking out from the side of the pedestal that Link hadn't climbed.
Link, Zelda and the security guard all exchanged glances. Slowly, Link and Zelda began to approach the black mass on the floor.
"Hey, don't touch that, kid!" the security guard snapped. "I'm calling for backup. I don't know what you two did, but rock turning into... something else... is never a good thing."
Link and Zelda didn't stop, though. They continued to approach the pile, Zelda stretching out a hand to touch it. Just before she laid a hand on it, it began to stir, and the three occupants of the room froze.
Cautiously, Link touched the pile. A second later, the pile stirred again, and Link and Zelda came face-to-face with a man like no one they'd ever seen before.
The man's skin was dark – not the coffee-tan that Link sometimes saw on construction workers and people who worked outside a lot, but wet-earth brown. His hair and beard, by contrast, were bright and fiery red. The man's features were dominated by a large, hooked nose, which made him look as though he was well-accustomed to scowling. His eyes were bright orange, nearly a perfect match to the shards of jewel on his forehead. A white scar the approximate width and thickness of Link's blade on the man's forehead explained why there were only shards of a whole on his head.
In return, the man studied Zelda and Link for a moment, before scowling and leaping back, brandishing his blades in an aggressive stance. The two children recoiled in shock.
The man was huge. Now that he was no longer slumped on the floor, they could see that he was more than double either of their heights, and indeed he even dwarfed the security guard, who was no small man. Coupled with his fluid motions and the ease with which he held his swords, the man who had been encased in stone looked every inch a warlord.
He glared at Link and at the sword in his hand, then said something entirely incomprehensible. Zelda and Link shared a quick glance, then shook their heads in united confusion.
He frowned, then said something again.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say," Link said. "Can you speak Hylian?"
The man scowled at him, and Link suddenly felt stupid. Of course the man encased in rock couldn't speak Hylian!
Zelda spoke up, though. "Link, I think he's-" She cut herself off and leapt out of the way as the warlord suddenly brought his sword down towards Link. Apparently, he'd had enough of talking.
Instinctively, Link raised his sword and deflected the blow to the side. The warlord's blade left a furrow in the marble floor as it skidded away from Link.
"Hey!" he yelled automatically, but the only response was the second sword aimed at his face. It went the same way as the other one.
Zelda leapt away, and Link scrambled to follow suit as the warlord's sword flew at him again. As Link dodged, the warlord struck again and again, aiming his blows to kill.
Suddenly, Zelda entered the fray, leaping from a pedestal onto the warlord's shoulders, a shard of glass held in her hand like a knife. The warlord reached to pull her off, but Link, seizing the opportunity, leapt up and slashed at the warlord's hands, making him drop his swords. Before he could retrieve them, Link kicked them away and pointed his sword at the warlord's face, making him freeze.
Zelda leapt off his shoulders and dashed around behind Link. As she passed, the warlord tried to grab at her, but Link slashed at his hands again to stop him. He scowled at Link and folded his arms, muttering something.
"I can't understand you, but I don't want to fight," Link said slowly, hoping that the warlord could understand him. "I don't even know who you are. Why did you attack me?"
The warlord scowled, then slowly, hesitantly, he asked a question in his unknown language.
"Link, I think that's Great Sea Hylian!" Zelda suddenly cut in. "I was trying to tell you that before he attacked you."
"Can you understand him at all?"
"...No. I'm not very good at Great Sea Hylian." Zelda's face lit up suddenly. "But my tutor's from the Great Sea! I bet she could understand him!"
"Well, that's something."
"Yeah. I'll go call her."
Zelda stepped away from Link and pulled her phone out of her pocket, already dialling. The warlord looked towards her as if to follow, but Link swiped his sword in front of his chest in an attempt to be threatening.
This drew only an amused glance. Still, the warlord seemed wary of Link – or the sword - so he stayed put. Link vaguely wondered why.
Zelda returned a few moments later. "She's on her way. Five minutes. The castle's not very far away."
Link nodded, then blurted out what they'd both been thinking since the action had stopped. "Why did he attack us? We didn't even do anything to him."
"I don't know, Link. I don't know anything more than you do."
"Hopefully your tutor can help..."
