Birth By Sleep

Note for the canon-blind: The Zora people are a water tribe in the Legend of Zelda series. In Twilight Princess, the Zora's Domain comes under attack by powers of darkness and the Zora's queen, Rutela, orders her son, Prince Ralis, to go to Hyrule Castle to warn Princess Zelda of what's happened and in the meantime, tragedy strikes.

Note for the canon savvy: this one-shot is more like a 'what I think may have happened because it wasn't shown in the game' experiment. I'm very big on exploring little things that characters mention in passing, and Rutela's fate is always one that I thought was particularly disturbing. Which makes it perfect mind fodder.

"Be certain that you stress to Princess Zelda that we need aide immediately."

In this moment, Ralis looks less like a boy and I see a hint of the future king that resides in him gaze back at me. He swallows and straightens up, nodding curtly. "I will, Mother," he says in what I perceive is his attempt at a brave tone of voice and I smile.

"Be as quick as you can, but most of all, stay hidden as much as possible."

"Yes, Mother." A silence falls between us. "Mother," Ralis says, "everything will be all right once Princess Zelda comes. I know it will."

I quickly try to swallow back any uncertainty that threatens to leave my lips. "Yes, I believe that as well," I say in a quiet voice, reaching out to touch Ralis's cheek with my fingertips. Every day as my son grows in stature and wisdom, he proves himself capable of one day ruling this land. But even as future king, for now he is still my little boy and I love him with more love than I feel that I am able to possess in my very being. I want to voice these things to him, but time is quickly running out. There will be time for these things later.

He turns to leave and I watch him go. A part of me wishes that I could go in his stead, but I cannot leave the throne – I am needed with the Zoras. My strength encourages and motivates them to continue with life as though nothing has threatened to interrupt it. And they need that stability, that certainty in these times. I walk to the edge of the throne room and look down toward the rest of the village. The land below is teeming with life; Guards stroll around and lazily watch the children swim and play with each other. I see some Zoras resting in the shade of the trees by the bank, some sleeping, others talking and laughing.

Laughter. Something that I fear will soon become a rare event.

Though the scene below is normal, I look into the distance at the looming black clouds. They appear to get closer and every day the fear at the back of my mind grows, gnawing without end. I have received reports from the surrounding territories that a dark force is making its way toward us. I am confident in the guards to protect our village – I have never once doubted their abilities. But this dark force…what if it is more powerful than we believe? Though I am afraid for the future, I choose to try and believe the very best.

For it is all I have.

It is days later, and I haven't heard from Ralis nor Princess Zelda. I pace in the throne room when I have spare time, trying to remain calm and rational. These are dangerous times, I tell myself. Ralis must be careful to get to Hyrule Castle without being seen. And certainly Princess Zelda has other villages to see to besides ours. I pray to the gods that help comes quickly, before it's too late for us. I pray for wisdom, guidance and strength and I can feel that my prayers are heard, which gives me comfort in a sense.

But I still am worried.

My prayers, though heard, are in vain, as I soon discover.

"My queen," one of the Zora guards shouts one evening as night falls on the village, "intruders have descended upon us!"

I quickly rise from the throne where I am praying and without any regard for my state, I run toward the edge of the room to look down into the village. Little balls of orange move around the darkness with speed, faster than my eyes can follow and screams, though distant, reach my ears. Panic closes my throat and constricts my very breath. I can't understand what the guard is telling me over the chant that goes through my mind:

They are here. They are here. They are here.

"This enemy is unknown to us, my queen. All we know is that our normal attacks aren't a match for them."

I blink to try to draw myself back into the conversation. "We must exhaust whatever resources we have," I say. The guard nods curtly.

"What of Ralis? Isn't he to bring Princess Zelda to us?"

"There isn't time to wait." I turn around and walk back toward the throne. "See to it that every available guard is down in the village. We must protect the people, particularly the women and children. Take any that are alive to safety via the secret passage to Kakariko."

"Yes, my lady." The guard bows and leaves me be. I grasp the back of the throne chair.

"Oh, my dearest King," I whisper after a few moments. "How I wish you were here to guide us…to guide me." Fear washes over me in waves, sinking into every crevice and space of my body. It tells me to run, to save myself while I still can. But I am the elder of this village; I must stand by my people in times of prosperity and trials. Yes, I shall go to the village and do what I can. Certainly, there will be something I can do to help-

A sharp pain hits the back of my head and I feel conscious slip from my grasp, darkness enveloping me into a cocoon of silence.

A grunt and soft slap to my cheek brings me out of the darkness and I open my eyes, blinking to try to clear my blurry vision. I hear voices, soft at first but as I become more awake, they rise to a deafening roar. I can barely make out the words that the voices are shouting, but I can't ignore the tones of fear and grief that reach my ears. I try to move, but wince at the burning sensation that envelope my wrists and the pang that sticks into my back. One of the dark creatures notices me and takes the stake that I am tied to and wretches it up from the ground. A jolt of pain rattles me and I hold back a cry of pain. As soon as I am turned around, the crowd quiets.

The people –my people- all watch me with wide eyes, gentle winks of their tear-filled eyes dancing before my vision - men, women and children all forced to stand around the small stage I'm standing on. Dark beings surround us on every side and I see that the Zora guards are all tied up in a mystical type of bind, as though dark magic is holding them hostage. They move and fight against their binds, but it is useless.

"So she finally awakens."

Someone walks in front of me and blocks my view of the crowd. What meets my eyes is nothing like what resembles a face – it is a disturbing mask with no resemblance to anything human or even animal. It grabs my chin suddenly and moves my head around, as though I am being examined. One of the finger-like limbs moves across my neck, so lightly that I can barely feel it and a panic start to rise in me.

"Please," I say softly. The being pauses and suddenly lets my chin go, turning to look at the Zoras.

"Zoras," it cries. "Behold your queen!" The crowd becomes dead silent and the being turns around to look at me again. With a wave of its hand to the beast standing beside me, the being vanishes.

I look to the crowd again. It seems that the features of the Zora people are more vivid to me now that I know that this moment will be my last. As I scan across the crowd, I close my eyes to try to etch the image before me into the very ripples of my mind. A grunt and an unsheathing of a sword breaks the silence and though my body quakes and my heart is thundering in my ears, my spirit is calm. I can hear mothers moving to shield their children's eyes and the sobbing that was soft grows in volume and agony from the entire crowd.

The blade touches my neck and I purse my lips to hold back one last sob. My last thoughts are of Ralis. If only I could see him one last time and hold him in my arms. If only I could tell him that my love for him spans the widest of the lakes that grace this land and goes deeper than the deepest of oceans. If only I could lay aside the title of queen and be his mother for just a moment longer.

If only.

If only.