"No," said Linus, a man in his thirties with unshaven stubble growing into an unshaven beard, as he crossed his arms and reached up to brush a wet clump of hair out of his eyes as the rain battered against him.
Zelda narrowed her eyes and placed a hand on the shoulder of her young assistant. The shadow creature lay on a makeshift stretcher beside Saria. "We paid you in advance," Zelda said.
"Ye didn' say anythin' about one a Ganon's Legion bein' with ya."
"It's comatose."
"Comatose? So was Ganon, what I hear. Looky where that got us."
Zelda cast a sideways glance at Saria, whose young frame shivered under the constant rainfall, doing her best to hide the minor case of the chills that was developing.
She cast her gaze then over Linus' shoulder to the ferry that was to be transport them. It was less impressive than Zelda had expected, even with already low standards; a ramshackle boat that looked to have been in a constant state of disrepair since the beginning of its lifetime. Only the steam powered paddle in the rear looked modern enough to hold up against the storm.
But it was shelter for Saria.
"Fine," Zelda said at last. "I'll pay you double. But you take us up river, no questions asked."
Linus considered it for a moment. "Double," he repeated. "But ya'd best have it up front now. Not doin' this for free, not with one of them Legion things onboard."
Zelda reached into her breast pocket, feeling around for her already dwindling supply of rupees. It would be better to do away with the ignoramus and commandeer the boat herself. What crew there was onboard could no doubt be convinced to serve under another, should income be all they desired.
But despite her treacherous thoughts, Zelda dropped two tiny silver gems into Linus' outstretched hand, refusing to dignify her compromise with an insult.
Linus smiled and spun around, striding up the gangplank while signaling to them over his shoulder. "C'mon then, don' be shy. We're gonna be good friends by the end all this."
Zelda scowled, taking one side of the stretcher while Saria took the rear, and followed Linus up his gangplank and onto his boat.
The ferry seemed a fragile thing, swollen with water and threatening to break apart at any moment, but the upper deck provided roof for the lower and brief shelter for weary hands. Zelda and Saria together lowered the stretcher.
Zelda stared at the ground in contemplative silence, scrunching her sleeves together. Thunder roared and lightning scarred the clouds. When her clothes were as dry as she had the patience to make them, Zelda crossed her arms and looked out from the ship, towards the perpetual darkness that had engulfed the land.
"Mistress Zelda, why are we going to Catalia?" said Saria.
Zelda looked up and met curious eyes with ambivalent ones. "To save the world, of course."
"Save… the world?"
Zelda noted the girl's darkened hair, the way bright green turned to bitter black when there was so little light to guide their way. "Haven't you been paying attention?" she said, eyes snapping back to the floor. "How do you think this is going to end? Do you believe that Ganon will one day allow the natural order of things to return?"
Zelda's eyes moved to the shadow construct at her feet, its red eyes the only thing distinguishing it from the rest of the darkness.
"There was once a story of a boy in green who traveled across time, wielding in his hands the Master Sword, blade of light and bane of all evil. When darkness loomed over Hylia, the boy would appear and cast it down, disappearing afterwards into time."
Saria hesitated. "…I don't know this story, Mistress Zelda."
"That's because the boy in green stopped coming back." Zelda drew her pocket watch, but paid no particular attention to the time. When the boat roared and lurched forward, she wrapped her fingers around the golden pocket-watch and pushed it back into her coat pocket.
"Why, Mistress Zelda?"
Zelda granted Saria a merciful gaze, as invisible as it was in the dim light provided in perpetual darkness. "No one's sure," she said. "There are theories, but nothing conclusive."
Zelda paced alongside the edge of the boat, running her hand across the rope put in place to keep passenger from falling over the side. She stared down at murky black water. A dark landscape passed them as they moved upriver, fighting against increasingly violent water. "Saria, we're going to bring back the boy in green."
Zelda looked to the forgotten shadow that comatose upon their stretcher.
"And we will use this creature as a vessel."
"A—"
With a wave of her hand, Zelda banished her assistant's words "Enough," she said. "You will learn what is necessary when we reach the Kokria. My business with them concerns your former guardian."
Saria nodded as she always had when her words spread too quickly into the topic.
Zelda knew only that a day had passed through one check of her pocket-watch. No sun rose to greet them, nor did the air around them warm. It was only through her pocket-watch that she knew they would soon arrive at their chosen, the shadow construct in tow. She knew also to be grateful that Ganon's Legion had not located them.
Yet.
Saria lay sleeping on the floor, her arms placed awkwardly beneath her head to provide cushioning.
Zelda considered for a moment waking her, but decided against it. Sleep had long since stopped being necessary for her. Though spider-webs of wrinkles crisscrossed beneath her eyes, she felt little. There was little point in sleeping if the whole world was black.
The rain had slowed to a light shower, no longer able to affect the flow of the river.
It was only a guess that they'd crossed into Catalia, a guess that Zelda was not comfortable relying on. Landmarks visible long ago could no longer be discerned. She opted instead to hunt down the captain, her bristly associate of before. She ascended several sets of stairs and found herself in the captain's next, Linus at the helm.
"How long till we dock?" Zelda said as she crossed her arms and approached Linus, his form illuminated by several choicely placed candles.
"Hour 'r so," he said, paying her little heed.
Only a thin sheet of glass protected Linus from the elements. Only a rotting wheel controlled the direction the ship would take, steering her near blind in the darkness that Ganon offered.
"How much did you sell us out for?" Zelda said.
Linus did not react.
"You wouldn't have extorted me if you didn't think you could get away with it."
Linus turned his head. "I lied to 'em. You don' think they're not eager to catch you? I've seen your picture all the time. Posters all over the place. Ye're not usually dumb, Zelda. Why bring the girl with ya? They'll take her just as soon as they'd take you. Ya know what the Legion does to prisoners. Might as well bury 'er while ye're at it."
Zelda was quiet for a long time.
She stared at the floor, biting her tongue until the storm that brewed inside passed. "Better dead than indoctrinated."
"Ya got that much o' a grudge?"
"Only against one of them." Zelda ended the conversation by heading toward the door, stopping momentarily to glare at Linus from the corner of her eye. "If anything happens to Saria before she and I leave," she said, "I will rip your heart."
And with that, they entered Catalia.
